I ran the March Madness Half Marathon up in Cary, Illinois yesterday. It was an awesome race: well-planned, beautiful weather, happy runners. (For a full recap, click here to check out my race report on TOC's site.) I know I was happy: it was my best half time ever. Yip! This was quite a shocking turn of events considering I went into the race expecting mediocre results. I've chronicled my not-so-fun (or fast) winter of training indoors here on Fit-Ink: Despite banking plenty of miles, I've only had a couple of great runs since early January. And this race was hilly, so I knew it'd put my treadie workouts to the test. The stars aligned on Sunday. I am grateful to the running gods for helping me have a fun day out there.After a race--especially a good one--the first thing I do? (Hint: It's not stretch out, though it should be.) I always rummage through my gym bag searching for my cell phone. Then I call my husband--even if he's been watching from the sidelines--I'm bursting to tell him how it went. (And I know he appreciates hearing every last detail rehashed for the next 10 hours, haha.)
Next up? Calling my Dad. I grew up jogging with my Dad...for many years the only way he could beckon me outside was by luring me with promises of a latte at the end of the jaunt. I usually only managed a couple of miles--we both find that fact incredibly ironic now that I'm pretty much running-obsessed (at the time, I was much more excited about sprinting around a soccer field, or basketball court or tennis court...okay, also sleeping in on the weekends). So, he knows the ups and downs of my runs as well as I know them myself. He even followed along for almost four hours from his hotel room in California, where he was visiting my little brother at college, as I ran the NYC Marathon back in November. (I called him the second I picked up my baggage in Central Park.) He's heard about every PR--and every bummer performance--in my life within a couple hours of the race.
But yesterday, I was sans cell phone. I'd gone for an EZ swim in the UChicago pool on Saturday and--ugh--left my water bottle open in my gym bag, unknowningly dribbling H20 into the my phone en route. I'm having bad luck with water bottles lately! (The phone, may he RIP, didn't recover after drying out, so I ordered a cheapo new one from Zendoo.com.) So, with no one to call or text, it was just me and my post-race euphoria, and a long drive home. I will admit that, left with no other means of celebration, I turned the music up on the radio and belted out a few songs as loud as I could. Once home, I beelined my husband's study for a breathless recap. Then it was off to my computer to email Adam, my coach. (I love it when I have good news for him!) The only thing left to do? Call my Dad as soon as my cell phone arrives tomorrow. Got any post-race rituals? Share 'em by clicking "comments," below! Photo courtesy WeRPhoto.net, check the site for more race pics. Posted by Liz
i call my parents unless I've convinced them to watch the race live (in the case of a marathon or distance triathlon). There was one 5K though where my cell phone fritzed out on me--I sweat too much into it or something and it just shut off--while talking to my dad and recaping the race. That was interesting, I was cut off from communication for a few days until I could beg Cingular/ATT for a new phone.
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