Well, other than being wiped out later in the day I don’t seem to have done any permanent damage. I have the normal aches and realized I got dehydrated–didn’t have to make any trips Monday morning after drinking a liter of water on my way into work. Yikes! That normally that leads to 3 or 4 trips.
I did take the Monday off from running to give my various body parts–Achilles, quads, and left thumb some time to heal.
To, borrow from CNN-Sports Illustrated Writer, Peter King, here are some things I think I think after running the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon.
1) Reading others’ stories about the same race is a lot of fun. Gives you a different perspective. So far, I’ve read:
- Julie’s Race Report–she almost didn’t bring any cold-weather gear. Yowzer!
- Chemo-man’s Report–Someone I noticed in the crowd. I need to read more of his story.
- Mark also didn’t like the way the starting mats were positioned and ran with the 1:40 pace group and he passed me somewhere between 8.5 and the finish.
- Alyssa ran a great race in nasty conditions to come within 1 minute of her PR.
- A Vegan Runner and her fiance both run PRs!
- Jen and Willa rejoiced in victory.
- Tenacious (didn’t find her official handle) had a Pyrrhic Victory.
- The winner, Seth Brickley, and I have something in common–our shoes come untied during races except he takes the time to stop & tie them.
- minnetonkafelix’s photos–Some great pictures of the race, a talented photographer with some good photos of the Lake Minnetonka area.
- Official photos of the race. I didn’t see myself in the 400+ pictures but recognized a lot of other runners.
2) This winter needs to end.
3) Whatever fruit punch trauma I suffered in my childhood made a deep and permanent scar on my taste buds & stomach. Red Gatorade, Yuck!
4) I am getting older and slower but maybe not as fast I thought I was.
5) Cross-training and stretching are good ideas.
6) Despite sometimes recognizing good ideas, I can completely pretend like they don’t exist.
7) Opposable thumbs are a nice feature–they make things like tying your shoes, pinning a bib, opening a Gu, and grabbing a cup of water a lot easier. Thanks, Ugg and Eev for evolving them for us.
8) A cold, blustery wind has a way of distracting me from hills.
9) Runners might be crazy.
10) Our supporters and spectators might be crazier–standing around in that cold for a few hours to get a quick glimpse of their loved ones does not sound like fun.
11) Happiness is a pair of warm sweatpants.
12) I probably could use a more closely fitted running jacket.
13) Sometimes my mp3 player is smarter than I am.
.1) I wonder if the person who figures out the proper formula for the number of port-a-potties required for a race will earn a Nobel Prize for physics, medicine, economics, peace, or all of the above?
