San Antonio Again!

This trip was actually the weekend before our family mini vacation.  Brian and I, along with Sarah, Adam, Alicia, Amanda, Rusty, John, Jessica, and a few other friends, (that's a lot of commas in one sentence) headed to San Antonio for the Run Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon.  Most of us are veteran runners of this San Antonio race, but this was Alicia, Rusty, and Amanda's first time to run a 1/2.
 


My goal for this particular race was to try to drop some of my baby weight while training, and to beat my last 1/2 marathon time.  I shaved four minutes off of my last one!  That doesn't seem like a lot, but it actually is in the running world, especially with the weather the way it was.  It was so muggy, and the sun was brutal during some parts of the course.  I was happy with my four minutes.  The race is always a piece of cake compared to the training.  You have so much adrenaline and excitement to keep you going through the race, but the months leading up to it are hard work.  These are some of the quotes that go through my mind to keep me motivated during training.



 







The excitement that goes along with the races are indescribable.  It's like an alternate universe when you show up at the pre-race expo.  It's an entirely different world that is fueled by Cliff bars, Cytomax, and Gatorade, supported by KT tape and calf sleeves, medicated by IcyHot and BodyGlide, and fashioned by Brooks, Saucony, Mizuno, and Nike.  It's very exciting and something you have to experience to really understand.  But then again, maybe in order to understand you have to be a weirdo like me that  purposefully gets chafed, blisters, and leg cramps for the fun of it.  

it really IS my stress reliever

In years past it is hard to find your friends among the thirty thousand runners.  So this year we made shirts.  We decided to make them as bold as possible.  The downfall was that the "safety green" color we chose is also the popular sporty color this year.  There were lots of other people with the same flourescent shirts on.  It was still way better than trying to pick a black or other basic color out of the crowd.  There were eleven of us with the shirts.  We all contributed to the list on the back.

my contribution was "for food" (specifically for chocolate) and Brian's was "because walking takes too long."  That was one of my favorites and I'm mad I didn't think of that.  Brian's other reason was "to motivate fat people," but that one didn't make the cut :)  My other favorite was "no freaking idea," because I feel that way sometimes when I'm out training at 5 am or 10 pm when I could be sleeping instead... or eating.  

Brian's knee has been bothering him so he wasn't able to train for this race.  I was proud of him for making it through the whole 13.1 miles because I know he was hurting.  This is his second half marathon.  He said he's going to put a marathon sticker on his car because 13.1 + 13.1 = 26.2!

here are some fun rituals for races:
1. stocking up on Gu (a gooey sugary gel that you eat while running to keep from hitting a "runners' wall")
2.  Carb-loading-  consuming large amounts of carbohydrates the week leading up to the race so that your glycogen storages are full.  in other words, going out to eat at Olive Garden the night before the race and eating lots of pasta.
3.  Bucees!  always a must to stop at when heading west. 
4.  Walking around the expo and buying fun running shirts, stickers, and/or any thing else that visually links you to the running cult
5.  running the race, getting your medal, getting your picture taken, and having a great sense of accomplishment. 
6.  post-race Dairy Queen stop on the way home.  What better way to replenish all those lost calories than a chocolate extreme blizzard with extra fudge and cookie dough?

and for you non-runners..... :)