I would have never in a million years imagine that I would be dating a person whose favorite thing to do is run. You see, running and I.... water & oil. I can't run one block without stopping. Never could. I was the girl in gym class who would hide to try to cut a lap off my run and still ended up with a 21-minute mile and a half. I. don't. run.
Well guess what... Nick does.
Nick also played soccer, both of which require long drives to events and early mornings. The strange piece of the equation here is I like early mornings (sometimes.. depends how early were talking) and I love driving and going on long drives. Is this how I ended up at his number one groupie?
Why am I rambling on and on about this you may ask? Well I was thinking about this a lot today as I was getting up at 6am to go volunteer at the Martian Marathon. Even when Nick isn't running in the races.. he always wants to go help at them! I don't mind volunteering, and once in awhile 6am isn't so bad either, so I went along to help.
Guess what.... today, April 13th, might has well of been January 13th. It was SO cold and even snowed at one point. Here I am, standing with a stop sign, blocking people from driving down their streets and sending people home because they cannot drive through thousands of runners, all while admiring running shoes and planning another way to spend $100.
I was a "course marshal" and because of that, got this really cool sweatshirt!
Notice the "Obey Me!" Also, the back says "Ground Control."
Those packets that I am holding are called Gu, and they are essentially packets of sugars, carbs and electrolytes to provide energy while running. They are all the rage with runners and Nick just happened to get his hand on over 100 packets of this stuff today for volunteering. Mind you, each packet costs like $1.50 individually... He was like a kid in a candy shop.
At one point during the race, I was running in place to keep myself warm and a lady ran by who said to me "Next you you need to be out here with a bib on!" and I said "No thanks, I'm a horrible runner!" to which she replied "A few years ago I couldn't make it from my front door to my drive way and look at me now - I'm running a marathon!" That may have been inspirational, if I was not frozen solid and thinking about how crazy these people were to be running 26.2 miles in the rain, sleet and snow.
Another thing I always find interesting at races is that runners tend to put together interesting outfits. Some of which are costumes, but others just neon colors or other strange combinations. Today, in honor of the martian theme, there were several galactic costumes from "another world!" At the Corktown race, for St. Patrick's Day, there were fairies and hot dogs and all sorts of other things. I have become very good at people watching thanks to six years of watching Nick's sporting events.
After the race, and after getting my cup of Tim Hortons delicious goodness that I could not get before the race because I would not be a near a bathroom, Nick and I decided to go to Ikea. I am getting a new bed and have been looking at all sorts of them and so far, my favorites are all from Ikea. Ikea was pretty much a zoo today. It took almost 15 minutes to find a parking spot. Best thing about Ikea --- Lingonberry Soda, just saying! I left with an umbrella for just $2.99 and a .99 cent ice cube tray and lots of photos of beds I want. Nick wanted to make another stop at Running Fit (Ya know, he hadn't had enough running for one day!!!!!!!) so we did that as well. He got himself a "stick," - more runner's lingo! - that is for massaging your legs and I got my feet analyzed. Apparently I surprised the worker because my feet when analyzed on their pressure machine showed that I turned them inward but when i walked they actually turn out? (Something like that? Go figure - another reason not to run!)
We finally headed for home, but that is always easier said than done. We ended up meeting my mom at Big Lots to look and see what they had as far as bedrooms go, then getting something from her that needed to be delivered to Auntie A, which then resulted in a visit with Charlie and Ruby, and yes I know this sentence is incredibly long but so was my day.
Then I took a nap! A nap that lasted only an hour but felt like twelve. It was luxurious.
Now Nick and I are making cinnamon rolls and discussing our plans for his next race - The Bayshore Marathon- his first marathon! It is in Traverse City on Memorial Day Weekend. I told you.... number one groupie. Where Nick will run, I will get up way to early and stand around to see him run by for 30 seconds.
Goodnight!
xoxo
P.s. I thought I would leave you with a really horrible photo of me that should bring a smile to your face. Short story behind this photo... there is a heat vent down there. When we got back from the race it was blowing out all sorts of hot air and that little spot seems to be the warmest in the house
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