Subject: Marathon woman :)
Well, we're back from Baltimore and D.C. It was such a wonderful trip! Everything was so great: from the marathon, to getting to know Hans, to seeing Jackie Deetz, to sightseeing... every second of it was completely worth it!
We drove down on Thursday- left at 12:40, arrived at the hotel just before 6:00. It was a long trip, especially when it poured through Jersey... it was so hard to drive! It was really hard for me to eat at the beginning of the trip because I was pretty nervous, plus it's hard to eat healthy on the go! We had food that night and crashed pretty early because of all the driving.
Friday we went to the expo at M&T Bank Stadium (home of the Ravens) for like 4 hours. I made Eric walk around the place like a thousand times... bought of ton of cool shit, and checked out every vendor. We got a ton of free stuff (like rice and lanyards, lol) just for walking around. For the rest of the day, I made Eric sit in the hotel room and watch t.v. and nap because I didn't want to be on my feet too much... I'd save that for Saturday.
Saturday morning I was up before 5:00, and we left at 5:15... good thing because we got lost (on race day, of all days) because the directions we got from a guy at the expo told us to go South instead of North on 895. Our ETA in the morning had been before 6... well, we got there at 6:30. We sat and waited until it was time to go to the start. I lined up and before we knew it, a whole mile had passed. For me, the first half of the race was filled with despair and self-doubt, and the second half was filled with inspiration and excitement. At mile 13 I was feeling crappy already... sore and tired... but as soon as I passed the halfway point I was full of energy. Every time I passed a mile, I just concentrated on the next one. The people that lined the streets were wonderful support... they handed out gummy bears, popsicles, tissues... it was great. And they were all so encouraging. Before I knew it I had passed the finish line through Camden Yards, and was limping to get my massage. I layed down at the post-race party, ate french fries (ahhh it was GOOD), and then we drove back to the room. I was exhausted and sore, but triumphant!
Sunday was hell!!!! We checked out at noon and headed to D.C. to hang out with Hans. We did a lot of walking and sightseeing with him... Arlington National Cemetery (and we were VIPs with Hans being in the USAF, we even got ID-ed at the gates... they had guns...), WWII Memorial, etc. And every muscle in my body screamed the entire day. In the long run, walking so much ended up saving my ass come Monday, because I had some blood flowing through my legs, which made the recovery time so much sooner. However, if I had had it my way on Sunday, we would have stayed in bed.
Monday, Eric and I explored the city. We did tons more sightseeing, took a ton of pictures, and caught up with Hans when he got out of work. The city was so much fun to be in- I loved not having to drive anywhere. Taking the Metro was a favorite of mine!! It was wonderful. Monday night we stayed at Jackie's place, which was a really cute studio apt in Foggy Bottom (new GWU). It was a great night of relaxing and talking! And it was wonderful to see her!
Tuesday was my 23rd b-day :) which started off with Starbucks (I'm hooked) and then the Metro ride home. We went back to Hans' place, got ready, and headed to the ZOO!!! It was a ton of fun walking around looking at animals all day... I can't even tell you how relaxing it was! When we got back, we went to dinner, and then to THE CONTAINER STORE which we don't have in CT unfortunately! It's an organized person's dream in there... I could have spent $400, but I limited myself and checked out under $50. Whew. But I could hardly contain myself... Eric said that my eyes were as wide as saucers the entire time!
Wednesday... long trip home. Nuff said. I was sad to see the week end, because it had been such a wonderful and relaxing time. I loved the city... if I had to live there, I would. It was a great experience. And I came home a marathoner :)
Now... what next? Faster 5k's? Faster 1/2 marathons? Another marathon? An ultramarathon? I'm undecided... but I know I need to do more 26.2's...
Adios!
Well, we're back from Baltimore and D.C. It was such a wonderful trip! Everything was so great: from the marathon, to getting to know Hans, to seeing Jackie Deetz, to sightseeing... every second of it was completely worth it!
We drove down on Thursday- left at 12:40, arrived at the hotel just before 6:00. It was a long trip, especially when it poured through Jersey... it was so hard to drive! It was really hard for me to eat at the beginning of the trip because I was pretty nervous, plus it's hard to eat healthy on the go! We had food that night and crashed pretty early because of all the driving.
Friday we went to the expo at M&T Bank Stadium (home of the Ravens) for like 4 hours. I made Eric walk around the place like a thousand times... bought of ton of cool shit, and checked out every vendor. We got a ton of free stuff (like rice and lanyards, lol) just for walking around. For the rest of the day, I made Eric sit in the hotel room and watch t.v. and nap because I didn't want to be on my feet too much... I'd save that for Saturday.
Saturday morning I was up before 5:00, and we left at 5:15... good thing because we got lost (on race day, of all days) because the directions we got from a guy at the expo told us to go South instead of North on 895. Our ETA in the morning had been before 6... well, we got there at 6:30. We sat and waited until it was time to go to the start. I lined up and before we knew it, a whole mile had passed. For me, the first half of the race was filled with despair and self-doubt, and the second half was filled with inspiration and excitement. At mile 13 I was feeling crappy already... sore and tired... but as soon as I passed the halfway point I was full of energy. Every time I passed a mile, I just concentrated on the next one. The people that lined the streets were wonderful support... they handed out gummy bears, popsicles, tissues... it was great. And they were all so encouraging. Before I knew it I had passed the finish line through Camden Yards, and was limping to get my massage. I layed down at the post-race party, ate french fries (ahhh it was GOOD), and then we drove back to the room. I was exhausted and sore, but triumphant!
Sunday was hell!!!! We checked out at noon and headed to D.C. to hang out with Hans. We did a lot of walking and sightseeing with him... Arlington National Cemetery (and we were VIPs with Hans being in the USAF, we even got ID-ed at the gates... they had guns...), WWII Memorial, etc. And every muscle in my body screamed the entire day. In the long run, walking so much ended up saving my ass come Monday, because I had some blood flowing through my legs, which made the recovery time so much sooner. However, if I had had it my way on Sunday, we would have stayed in bed.
Monday, Eric and I explored the city. We did tons more sightseeing, took a ton of pictures, and caught up with Hans when he got out of work. The city was so much fun to be in- I loved not having to drive anywhere. Taking the Metro was a favorite of mine!! It was wonderful. Monday night we stayed at Jackie's place, which was a really cute studio apt in Foggy Bottom (new GWU). It was a great night of relaxing and talking! And it was wonderful to see her!
Tuesday was my 23rd b-day :) which started off with Starbucks (I'm hooked) and then the Metro ride home. We went back to Hans' place, got ready, and headed to the ZOO!!! It was a ton of fun walking around looking at animals all day... I can't even tell you how relaxing it was! When we got back, we went to dinner, and then to THE CONTAINER STORE which we don't have in CT unfortunately! It's an organized person's dream in there... I could have spent $400, but I limited myself and checked out under $50. Whew. But I could hardly contain myself... Eric said that my eyes were as wide as saucers the entire time!
Wednesday... long trip home. Nuff said. I was sad to see the week end, because it had been such a wonderful and relaxing time. I loved the city... if I had to live there, I would. It was a great experience. And I came home a marathoner :)
Now... what next? Faster 5k's? Faster 1/2 marathons? Another marathon? An ultramarathon? I'm undecided... but I know I need to do more 26.2's...
Adios!
