Today's Mighty Oak


So it’s been a minute since I’ve done these, and I partially forgot how much work they are, but I’m back at it, and here is my 2018 year in review! These are the big events from the year, the things I did and the things that made me smile! There’s always so many pictures that I initially pull that don’t make it in, which is always sad, but I’m still pretty happy with how this one turned out!



The world is awful, and there’s a lot going on, but let’s see what we have. First up, let’s calm down a bit with a beautiful exploration on Canon in D:

Dumb Runner (The Onion but for running) had two great articles which made me laugh a lot recently. The first, local runner receives photos from his virtual marathon and one that is so true locally, ‘without the marathon, residents scramble to find something else to bitch about.’

Brass players (and percussionists, opera singers, etc), be the change you (and hero) you want to see in this world.

Feeling down? Here’s Chris Hemsworth to tell you, yes you, how awesome you are!

We’re getting a new Star Wars Holiday Special! Which….that is news, but this time it’s Lego!

Also, here’s how we should swap the titles of the Star Wars movies around.

Okay, buckle up, getting to politics. First up, the Mass Dem party coordinated with the College Democrats of Mass to try to levy false sexual abuse accusations at a gay candidate in the primary. The whole thing is dirty and reeks of homophobia, as well as a misunderstanding of the dynamics of gay relationships.

AT the DNC, Michelle Obama was immaculate (transcript here):

Likewise, President Obama set out in the starkest of terms what is at stake (transcript here):

On the final night of the convention, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was extremely funny, and since I enjoyed VEEP so much, a nice touch!

Pete Buttigieg had a moving moment talking about his marriage as he was introducing Biden.

And then finally, the acceptance speech:

Since then, of course, things have gotten worse, with more stoking of hatred and violence, but in a stirring move, the Mets and Marlins left their game and left a BLM shirt draped over home plate.

And finally, the NBA has come to agreement to turn their arenas into voting sites!

That’s it for today. Have a great one, wash your hands, wear your mask, double check your voter registration and make a plan to vote!



Alright, let’s see what we have today!

First up, the trailer for In The Heights. I saw the show, and am so excited for this movie:

As an independent, I know I don’t (currently) have a say in the democratic primary, but in the last cycle, O’Malley was my pick. And hey look, he’s still feisty!

Speaking of politics, I’ve lost a lot of enthusiasm for Mayor Pete (but, as I wrote about before, I am still really, really proud of his candidacy and his staunch defense of liberal Christianity), and just like before, I don’t think he’ll end up being the nominee. That being said though, he takes a lot of heat unnecessarily for being ‘the wrong kind of gay.’ And that is incredibly hurtful, both within the community and without. There has been some great writing (which of course, I”m missing the link for currently) about Pete and the idea of ‘the best little boy in the world,’ and I think understanding that mentality helps us better understand where he comes from and how he approaches the political realm. All in all though, I’m be voting blue, no matter who.

Dumb Runner knocks it out of the park with their coverage of the 1:59 challenge.

It’s from earlier this year, but still great, the ‘trailer’ for Oscar:

In awesome news from the government (yes, actually), the FCC is setting up a nationwide three-digit suicide hotline.

Someone went through and read every piece of advice Dan Savage has ever dolled out, and they sum up their findings. It’s all great advice!

As we’re in the holidays, if you need a yule log video to cast up to a TV, Nerdist has a good roundup. I typically go with the Darth Vader one.

The amazing mash up of Hamilton and The Mandalorian:

Disney+ is bringing us a Star Wars game show next year!

My friend Nate has an amazing piece about our running team and the lessons he’s learned and how we’re learning from each other (and building each other up). Give it a read.

A reminder from The Oatmeal: be kind.

That’s it for now, have a great one!



Race information

  • What? Pittsburgh Marathon (and 5K: Steel Challenge)
  • When? May 5, 2019 (and May 4)
  • How far? 26.2 miles
  • Where? Pittsburgh, Pa.

Goals

GoalDescriptionCompleted?
Mandatory ADon’t get injuredYes
Mandatory BThank the volunteersYes
Mandatory CGet some sweet high fivesYes
DPR the marathonYes
EStretch goal: PR the 5KYes

Marathon Pace Splits

MileTime
4.411:26
1011:06
1111:00
13.110:58
15.510:52
2010:41
26.210:26

Training

I’m training for my first ultra in June, but still wanted to run the Pittsburgh full, so I swapped two weeks in my plan without too much trouble. I had a few weeks off due to some IT Band and then other knee issues, but ended up rallying back and having my biggest weekly mileage ever the week before this race week, so no taper for the marathon.

Pre-race: 5K

This was my first race ever, and always a good time and benchmark. Headed down to the North Shore, met up with some friends and headed over to the start line. Like last year, the DJ was decent, so that was a plus.

5K

I didn’t have much of a goal for this, but a stretch was to PR, while still not pushing myself. Lots of jostling of crowds at the beginning, but it spread out after the first mile or so. Enjoyed the run through the North Shore, although it was super muggy. Tackled the hill on the bridge, through downtown and down to the finish line for the first time that weekend, shaving about a minute off my 5K!

Post-race: 5K

As is custom, met friends at ‘Lost Child’ and regrouped to head to the Toddler Trot where my friend’s 2-year old was running. I’ve never watched the Toddler Trot, but it was a great time. At least one child per heat would just sit down on the ground and refuse to move, but there were lots of cute moments and the crowd support was a lot of fun for this.

That evening, the Frontrunners did a pasta party, where we all gathered at one of our member’s home for a big potluck. Caught up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while and enjoyed the company.

Pre-race: Marathon

Woke up early, after a good night of sleep and went to the busway to catch a ride downtown. Local bus authority added “extra service” which meant a bus at 4 a.m. and a bus at 4:10 a.m., then regular service starting at 6 a.m. This is not what was publicized, but ended up making it downtown with plenty of time, despite the issues. Upon exiting the busway, everyone headed left. My friend and I turned right to go to an entire bank of unused portos!

Dropped off my bag at gear check (took a picture of which truck number for easy retrieval) and we headed towards the corrals. Ran into another friend, took a quick selfie, then she was off to the faster runners. Made friends in the start corral with a mother and daughter both running their first half to commemorate their recently dead mother/grandmother, which was sweet. We answered questions they had about the city and the race process, and wished them luck. We moved up as the corals were released, running through the drizzle.

Miles [0] to [11]

My race partner and I chatted for a while, entertaining ourselves and other random runners on the course. I got so excited that I missed the mile markers for 5 and 6, so I adjusted my nutrition a bit to get back on track. Was feeling good, although we stopped to use a porto around mile 4, but otherwise, just clicking off miles. The area around Allegheny Commons is always great, so enjoyed the crowd support through there.

After the first relay exchange, we picked up two more runners, one of which was his first race as part of a relay team, and he joined our conversation (we were talking about the importance of science) and stuck with us. As we came near the end of the West end Bridge, we could hear the polka band, and it did not disappoint. Turning onto Carson, we made our way towards Station Square where our relay friend left us.

Up on Carson Street proper in the South Side is always a big crowd, and I encouraged those walking to go grab a drink, most of he bars were open anyway. We approached the split, and I said goodbye to my friend who was running the half, leaving me alone to make new friends by myself as I ran the extra block then up and across the Birmingham Bridge.

Miles [11] to [26.2]

Running up the bridge, I fell quickly in with two other runners, both of which running their first fulls (despite one having finished a half Ironman already). I gave them some encouragement (which included cursing at the bridge beneath our feet), and we got across before making our way up The Monster into Oakland. I ran up with no problems, although the top of the hill is always a bit sad, as the schools of Oakland have already graduated and the neighborhood is a bit empty. However, as I was running near the museums, a spectator handed out icepops, and I ended up stopping with two guys who remembered me and my silly antics from the year before!

The part of the course down fifth (with a short diversion onto Walnut) can be brutal mentally, but I got some orange slices from spectators, so it was decent. On said detour, a friend of mine was out on his porch, so I looked out for him and got some cheers. Hit the next relay station at Mellon Park and we headed to the next mentally grueling part, Penn Avenue; this just seems to go forever. Grabbed a beer and more orange slices, made a few jokes; wasn’t too bad.

Around this time was when I found spotted some really good eye candy, so I just tucked in behind them and tried to keep up whenever I was falling behind. Left turn onto Braddock brings you to Homewood, which was rocking this year! The crowd support was amazing and a great boost.

At this point, I hadn’t seen a pacer in a while. I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to knock 20 minutes off my PR to break 5 hours. I looked up and saw the 4:45 pacer and couldn’t believe it. I caught up with her small group, and we chatted a bit. My mind told me to stay with them, to reign myself in a bit and and just finish strong, I remembered I had at least three decent rolling hills to get past still. My hearts said I had more in the tank, so I took off.

Ran through Larimer and Highland Park before hitting the last relay exchange. I passed the two guys and told them how much I appreciated running behind them and off I went. Clicking off miles, finally hitting my favorite crowd support section near Church Brew Works. The wall of crowd support is great, but as I grabbed a beer from the Hashers, noticed that an ex-coworker of mine was there on the sidewalk. The man is a giant, bigoted asshole and made my life a living hell for two years. Had I not been running I would have stopped to tell him off, but I let that anger power me as I ran down to the Strip and back to downtown.

The return trip down Liberty is also mentally grueling, but I was ready for it, I just keyed into my music, tried to find some zen and take a bit of time for some catharsis and reflecting on the fact that I don’t have to work with that waste of a human anymore.

Saw team members right as I was heading into downtown, and I got some quick updates on how everyone was doing/did, which was a great boost! Made the second to last turn and was trucking along, counting off the lights before I could turn onto the Boulevard of the Allies. Quick chat with someone else who was also in the Pain Cave, and I told her, once we hit that McDonalds, if you have it, that’s when you start to really kick. Sure enough, we get there, and we both kick it up another notch. I felt my chest burning, so held back just a bit for a quarter mile more, then rounded the corner and kicked for the finish line.

My goal was to cut 20 minutes off and break 5 hours. Chip time: 4:33:12.

Post-race: Marathon

It rained most of the second half of this race, and I just wanted to be dry; the temperature had been a bit lower than the 5K the day before, and the steady rain helped to at least make it feel like the humidity wasn’t as much an issue, but it was still less than ideal. Went through the chute, which is a feat unto itself (I have implored the marathon the last two years to give us the bag to collect water, chips, fruit, bananas, bagels and cookies after the medals and heat-sheets, not at the very end, but I have been ignored) and headed out towards the finish line festival. Ran into two team mates, congratulated them and then collected my Steel Challenge medal before doing a bit of stretching and meeting up with some of the Frontrunners.

I had to pee since about mile 19, but ignored it. Finally, about half an hour after finishing, remembered I needed to, but it was brown. Pretty sure it was just dehydration, but I stopped at the medical tent just to double check. Doubled up my water the rest of the day and was fine, but the combination of the humidity and Nuun Sport (instead of Gatorade) was just a weird mix for me, even though I had trained with the Nuun.

Grabbed the T (subway) back to my bus station, and was lucky enough to get on the bus just before it left, saving me about half an hour. I did some stretching on the bus, and wound up exiting the same stop as a volunteer. I thanked her for doing it, it was the first year she did, so I told her I oped she would do it again next year.

What’s next, mental health and lessons learned

My goal race is coming up in five weeks! Have a down week this week then one more big push before I head off to tackle my first ultra. I’m glad this race helped me to better remember to go in and accept the weather with everyone else, as well as teaching me a bit about how to stay better hydrated, although I’ll be happy to return to the world of real food for fueling instead of gels.

I had two weeks off, followed by one week on, and then another two weeks off, due to injury. During those times, I really had a tough time mentally, not only because exercise helps me keep better control of my emotions and mental health, but also because I put far too much stock on the number my scale says. Yes, I still have a bit to go and need to continue working on being healthy (with a holistic approach, not just a number), but after losing a significant chunk of weight, I’m realizing I have a more complicated and messed up relationship with my body than I care to admit, and I need to work on those things.

Recognizing these problems is a good first step, so hopefully, with some help, I can put together some sort of plan to explore these issues and find some resolution.



Alright, let’s see what we have today.  First up, in case you forgot, the TEA party didn’t actually care about deficits.  They were just racists.

Also, Debra Messing is not messing around.  Good for her, a fuck Susan Sarandon.

Brett Kavanaugh, who is incredibly anti-gay, won’t say on the record his opinions about same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination laws.  But his court writings reveal he’s as far, if not further right, than Scalia.

In that vein, 16 states are petitioning the US government to let them fire workers for being gay, after that executive order was struck down.

The Russo Brothers put out an awesome video that goes over all the deaths in the MCU:

Kipchoge broke the World Record in the Berlin Marathon this morning.  Dumb Runner, always spots on, weighs in.

I wrote a while back, at least I think I did, about the article ‘the epidemic of gay loneliness,’ and a recent Savage Love column looks at that as well, a good read for everybody.

In case you need some positive news, a heartwarming letter from a gay man’s little brother went viral.

Okay, that’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon!



Alright, let’s see what we have today, little bit of a video heavy one, but let’s go with it!

For Star Wars Day, Heathrow added flights to destinations in the Star Wars galaxy to their boards.

In good news, Ireland is looking to prosecute practitioners of gay conversion torture.

The trailer for POSE looks so good:

Spoilers for Infinity War, but here’s a great break down of the real villain.

In that vein, want to see if you survived the final events of Infinity War?  Click here.  Spoiler, I didn’t make it.

Also related: straight people shouldn’t write about gay ‘culture’ if they don’t know what they’re talking about.  Bad NYTimes.

The music video for Deadpool 2 is amazing:

It’s a little heavy handed, but good on AIG and the All Blacks for these awesome new jerseys!

Two classic Mega Man games are being re-released….on cartridges!

I ran the marathon a few weeks ago and had a blast!  I talked with the guy filming this, but we didn’t make it in, but still a really cool video!

Required reading: Dan Savage eviscerates a gay republican and it’s so perfect.

Also, conservatives are sad because people don’t like them.  If I wasn’t busy trying to save the world, I still wouldn’t give a shit.

Arrested Development is coming back for season 5, and I’m so, so excited:

That’s it for now (hopefully these video links work, Youtube was acting strange for me), have a great one!



Race information

Goals

Goal Description Completed?
M1 Mandatory: Thank volunteers Oh yeah
M2 Mandatory: High five some people Epic high fives!
M3 Mandatory: Have a happy run Of course
A Finish uninjured Yes

Training

This was my first marathon, and with the success I’ve had with his plans before, I did Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 1 marathon plan. It increased my mileage in a smart way, and for the first time ever, I’ve run over 100 miles a month (actually, for four months in a row!).

Generally I’ve felt pretty good, my legs have been sore, but in a good way, and I’ve been diligent with stretching and rolling, which has really helped, as I feel like I’m prone to ITBS. While I didn’t have any real ITBS problems this time around, my knees took a bit of a beating, but never more than normal wear and tear I think. After all, this was a big increase in mileage for me. I added in some body weight work each day, and that helped a ton too. January I did planks, February and March I did squats and April I did push-ups. I need to keep that up!

Due to the strange winter/not-spring we’ve had, I did a lot of winter running. I did a long run on a treadmill due to icy roads, and a long run doing ⅓ mile loops in my neighborhood with a windchill of negative eight, but all things considered, those were good mental exercises as well. For the vast majority of my runs, I could enjoy being basically alone (or dodging college students or cyclists. I ran a super windy half marathon halfway through as a tune-up race, and set a PR there. I only missed one run due to waiting on a plumber (but at least I had hot water after that!), although there is always some shuffling of days due to work travel.

I ran a 20-miler, and had hoped to turn my second 20 into 22, but the weather spiked and so did the pollen and I bonked hard after 18 miles. It was good training to know that that felt like (I was either going to throw up or pass out if I hadn’t stopped running and the chills I couldn’t seem to shake freaked me out), but I was still disappointed in myself. But, just passing the 20-mile mark the first time was a huge mental boost, and really increased my confidence since I felt pretty good afterwards.

Pre-race

Like always, a couple of us headed downtown to volunteer with expo set-up, getting the registration area ready with over 40,000 shirts A friend came in from out of town (sadly he couldn’t run, he injured his ankle), but we headed down the expo to grab bibs, shirts and all the commemorative stuff they were giving out since this is the 10th anniversary of the race being back. I enjoyed this motivational shirt and picked one up for myself.

I love how the city comes out for the marathon and love how I will just randomly run into people I know at the expo and all throughout the weekend, it’s such an amazing time!.

Race – Saturday: 5K

Saturday morning I headed downtown for the 5K, and met up with a couple Frontrunners at the start line. I do have to say, they got a much better DJ for this race than year’s past, and we were all dancing beforehand, so kudos to P3R for that! I lost them after the gun went off, and even though I tried to hold back, I just kind of enjoyed the race, not really pushing. There were a ton of high fives given out and I had a great time interacting with the crowd.

Two very sad things through. One, the woman I look for every year on a specific corner with a pot and a wooden spoon cheering was not there. I’m hoping she’ll be there on Sunday, but if not, wooden spoon lady will always be in my thoughts when I run past that corner. And two, I think I landed weird trying to dodge potholes and my shin was sore the rest of the day. Hopefully it’s nothing major and won’t affect my Sunday race.

I was less than 25 seconds off my PR, and with a new course (which, after having the same course for so many years, having to change for road construction made it weird to figure out my pace/relative distance), and without really pushing myself, I’m really happy with that.

These two are my biggest cheerleaders. Sean paced me in the first race I did a training plan (10-miler) and paced me to my first sub-30 5K. Both he and Cat never once stopped believing in me and both encouraged me to do this crazy thing, so it was awesome that the three of us were there together at the finish line of the 5K.

Spent most of the day catching up on some TV and then headed to dinner with some wonderful Redditors! I was super excited to host Craig for the night while he was in town for the Half and we met up with Jill and Mike for a delicious meal!

Race – Sunday: Marathon

Sunday morning woke up with no calf/shin pain thankfully and we took the bus in, which was pretty easy and we got dropped off across the street from the hotel we had access to through the Running Club Rally or as members of Steel City Road Runners. They put out a spread of breakfast foods, coffee, water, juice and give you access to indoor bathrooms as well as a private gear check, so it’s a good deal. At the end, you have catered food as well as private port-a-potties and massages.

We checked out gear and headed down to our corral, saying hi and bye to a number of friends and other Frontrunners. When we made our way into the corral, we stopped right next to a former co-worker of mine from camp who had decided somewhat last minute to come into Pittsburgh to run, so myself, Alandra and Justin took off together.

Start-Mile 5

It was super humid. The cloud cover and temperature were great, but it was kind of like running through soup, and I was drenched within a mile. Knew that wasn’t going to change so I just tucked in and went with it. Lots of crowds, but normal for the first part.

My friend Alandra and I have identical paces and we’re consistent, so we race together a lot. We also both give tours to whoever is around us and each other by researching historical facts about the course. As we went over the 16th Street Bridge at mile 3, we were discussing it, and two people behind us asked for some more details and we obliged. They were from Chicago and had never been to Pittsburgh before, so we happily chatted until Alandra and I stopped to pee at mile 5. Also of note, the woman with the pot and wooden spoon was not on the course on Sunday either, making me sad. We said goodbye to Justin (coworker) and Elaine and Jeff (Chicago) and said we’d try to catch up.

Miles 5-10

Chugging along, ticking off miles. A random woman who was in line to pee with us was really upset she was losing time and we’re pretty sure she wanted to guilt us into letting her cut. No one did, and she left in a huff. Crossing the West End Bridge, we heard polka music (and then saw runners polkaing in the street), and we arrived in one of the best neighborhoods on the course: The West End.

From there, things were pretty standard until we reached the South Side, which is always a party, and it didn’t disappoint. While some of the other neighborhoods seemed damped due to the intermittent rain (looking at you, Homewood), the South Side was rocking and at one point I was dancing down the street to one of the DJ’s. I made a woman’s life when I read her sign for a friend that read “run, whore, run (and then her friend’s name)” when I told her that “I’m not a whore, I’m just friendly with my mouth!”

Miles 10-17

As we came up to the half/full split at the end of Carson, Alandra and I wished each other a happy run, and off we went. The full goes around a block before heading onto the toughest mile of the course, the Birmingham Bridge and the Monster hill up into Oakland. I had run The Monster two years ago in the relay, in preparation for this race, and I’m really proud to say I ran the whole thing again.

When I got to the top, I caught back up to Elaine and Jeff! We tucked in together and ran together the rest of the way. I facetimed with other members of their running club who came to Pittsburgh and we talked about Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, social justice, cute butts, Pittsburgh history and craft beer for 14 miles. Remember how I said Alandra and I are consistent? Even though we ran the last three miles of it separately, my half split and her finish were only five seconds apart, even with the varied elevation. We really should be pacers!

Jeff was a little faster than us, but wanted to run with Elaine, so he would run ahead, see if he could find beer (for a bet they had with their club) and would wait for us, where the two of them would split it and I’d take a sip. All in all, we had six beers like that on the course. At one point in Homewood, Jeff went into a front yard of a family who was outside grilling and cheering and asked for a beer. Yinzers are awesome and they gave him one for us to split!

Miles 17-26

Miles 17-23 were the only parts of the course I hadn’t run before. So that was neat to see parts of the city on foot I’d only seen in a car before. Jeff sat down and petted some of the greyhounds who were at a cheering station, and in the most adorable fashion, when he tried to stand up, he found himself held down by paws and sad puppy eyes. Around mile 21, Jeff took off (giving me a pat on the butt, which I appreciated), he was starting to cramp a bit, and wanted to finish to see if he could stave that off, and by mile 22, the humidity was getting to me as well, my left thigh and calf alternating between which one was trying to cramp up. I adjusted my gait on the fly and dared it to cramp; I was not going to stop at this point!

Saw a friend I volunteered with earlier in the week who had randomly come out to listen to the bands on the course, and ran past another acquaintance’s house as he was outside talking to a neighbor. I had a conversation with a Boy Scout Troop to tell them to go to camp, and one of the Scouts volunteering will be working at the camp I used to run! As we hit the last couple rolling hills, I have to say, the crowd support, which had been amazing, was taken up to a whole new level by Bloomfield at mile 23. There was a huge crowd, some holding out drinks or oranges, others beer, and a huge line of high fives were waiting for me, and it was the boost we needed! We also finally passed Church Brew Works, which Elaine was going to go eat at that night.

I was in for one more surprise, as Mike and Jill, after having finished the Half, circled back to cheer me on at mile 25! With signs that Steve designed that…are me! That was a huge boost and pretty soon we had less than a mile to go, running through downtown.

Elaine was amazing, this was her 10th marathon (in 10 states) and she said she was super proud not only of my steady pace, but also my enjoyment of the run and overall demeanor. If I’m not having a happy run, something is really wrong! With about .7 to go, she told me to start my kick. I wasn’t sure I had it in me, but she knew exactly when to send me on my way.

Finish

I actually did have a kick left in me, and even though we had sped up to my 5K pace for the last mile, I pulled away a bit (and waved to an old college friend in the crowd at the finish line I wasn’t expecting to see) and I crossed the timing mats of my first ever full marathon! I slowed down, waited for Elaine to finish and she proudly put the medal around my neck and we grabbed a photo. We found Jeff and got a photo of the three of us.

Mental

Honestly, bonking on the second 20-miler was rough for me. Looking at it rationally, it was a 40-degree swing and I just wasn’t acclimated to that temperature yet and the pollen made it impossible for me to take a full breath. I still had one 20-miler under my belt, and people run marathons on plans that only go up to 18, and I did two of those, but I’m just prone to not believing in myself.

Otherwise, this plan fell during just a shit-show mentally for me. Some of it was work, some of it was family and some of it was relationships. And most of it was just my brain just not being cooperative. I’m better at accepting that and moving on, but it’s still a struggle in each moment.

If I’m being honest, I’m been trying to decide if I want to explore some medication options again, and for how long it’s been on my mind, I’m pretty sure that should be pushing me to yes. But it’s such a process and I’m scared to go through the trial and error again, and honestly, I have no idea if there would be any side effects that would affect my running. I mention that because running augments my therapy and I need both to stay healthy, so adding medication is something I need to approach with a plan.

Post-race

I grabbed my Steel Challenge medal for doing a Sunday race and the Saturday 5K, and then headed to the Running Club Rally hospitality tent to celebrate with friends!

My nutrition plan seemed to be pretty spot on, my stomach was a little queasy at time, and I’m still trying to get my appetite back, but that all matches up with my long training runs as well. I took gels at miles 7, 12 (with extra caffeine), 17 and 22, and salt tabs every 5 miles. I used my handheld bottle, keeping it topped off with gatorade, and I grabbed water at most of the stops. I also grabbed orange slices I think four or five times from random people in the crowd. Still ended up a little crusty at the end of the race, but all things considered, including the high humidity, I was super thankful for having locked in that nutrition plan ahead of time.

I’m a little sore, but honestly, nothing more than I really expected. I’m probably still a bit dehydrated, so I’m trying to force myself to drink more water. I was really diligent for two weeks leading up to the race, and I need to keep that going to make sure my recovery is effective.

What’s next?

I’ll be crewing again for the runnit meetup at an ultra marathon in June and I’ll be running the GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) Relay in the fall. My Burn is coming up and would be the first week of my next training plan (Memorial Day Weekend), so I’m going to start a week early and just repeat what I can that week. I’m not really looking forward to summer running, but maybe actually being on a plan and forcing myself to get out there will be good for me!

Since this was my first full, I just wanted to run without getting injured. I had two super-secret time goals in my head, and I finished between the two of them, so now I have a new time goal to work on, maybe I’ll be able to find a fall marathon to see if I can break that time barrier!

Here’s the full album of pictures from race weekend which I have to get a picture of all the medals and shirts, so I’ll be adding that later!

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