Monday, June 25, 2012

Ridiculously Long Running Club Recap

Holy cow, Saturday morning was a whirlwind!  Starting when my alarm when off at 4:30 am (with just a brief moment of "what the heck was I thinking, running BEFORE running club started?!), to driving into a dark parking lot an hour later, meeting up with five equally crazy ladies, and setting off into the unknown...well, for me, anyway.  It's strange to run a different route, especially when it's still dark.  Julia ran this route on Wednesday, which was good for me because at one point I was pretty turned around as to which direction we should go.  No worries, though - we made it through our planned 4 mile run just fine.  Oh, we had one funny blip:  we crossed a major street, in the crosswalk and with the light, and because there was so little traffic, almost jaywalked the adjoining street, but when we glanced to our right, we could see a police car sitting at the signal, so we stopped and pressed the "walk" button for the crosswalk.  A couple seconds later, the police officer got on her loudspeaker and we heard "RUNNERS, YOU MAY CROSS THE STREET" - so we did, indeed, jaywalk...hey, it was police-sanctioned.  Just another mini adventure in running!

All that craziness, and it wasn't even 6:30 am yet!  We arrived back at the new official running club meeting spot, which happens to be in front of the BRAND! NEW! RUNNING! STORE!  So exciting!  The store, Brazos Running Company, is the new sponsor of our USAFit BCS running club, and most of our runs will begin from the storefront.  We were all milling around, with new and old members of the running club arriving to sign up, when one of the store owners, Mike, saw me and took me inside to see the store before they opened (and yes, I did feel special!).  Y'all, it was total eye candy.  They had so much stuff, and it was all displayed so nicely!  I took a quick look and almost instantly spotted a Brooks "Run Happy" shirt hanging up - wheee!  I've been wanting a Run Happy shirt for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity to get it - first day of half marathon training, back to being with my running club peeps, AND the new store?  It must be mine.  This is a little out of order, but here's a shot of me in my new shirt, after I'd gotten cleaned up.  The rest of the pictures will be my traditional "look like hell" running pictures - but hey, if I looked like this, I wouldn't have gotten a good workout in!
 Love this mantra, and paired with a cupcake?  Yes, please!

OK, back to the beginning.  So the runners arrived and it was great - not only were people returning who'd been there the last go-round, but several from my first time with the running club, back in 2010, came back!   Darrell was there, who I trailed on that infamous 12-mile death march, and Tiffani was there, who I ran with on the very first day of running club, and Stina, who was also there the first day - she won a fuel belt in the raffle and gave it to me!  Ah memories...it was great to see them and know that we'd all be suffering running together again!
Everyone milling around, waiting to start our 2 mile run.

After some announcements and coach intros (did I mention Julia is the assistant coach for the marathon group?), we set off on our run, where my legs immediately protested.  They were all "wait, WHAT IS THIS???  we were DONE, lady!" - so yeah, that second run wasn't great, but I did it with Kim, who had also been one of the early morning crazies, and she was just as tired.  We ran, we walked a bit, we got it done.  Six miles total, and honestly, I think it would have been easier to do it all at once rather than split it up with an hour-plus break in between.

Then the real excitement began - the store owners - Mike, Dara, Dan and Janine - came out and said a few words, and then?  The running store was officially open!
Here we are, ready to go in...can you find me in this picture?  Coach Dale took this one.

Coach Dale also busted me at the check out - he called my name, I turned, and bam.  Picture snapped, and he emailed it to Jeff!  Nah, it's all good.  We've waited a long time for a running store in our community, and supporting it will hopefully ensure that it will STAY in our community!
Tiffani, Julia and I, all lined up to buy our stuff!

So what did I get?  Well, considering that I really didn't NEED anything, a lot...which should come as no surprise to anyone.  I planned ahead and packed a complete change of clothes so I could shed my gross sweaty running outfit and be able to try on new clothes.  I had the Run Happy shirt in my hand and also another BRC technical shirt in pink and turquoise (I KNOW!!!) but it was a slim fit and the biggest size, a large, felt just too clingy for my liking.  Too bad, as it was cute.  They had some Moving Comfort shorts that appealed to me - I haven't bought any running shorts since early 2010.  I do like the running skirts, but lately I've been wearing my old shorts to run in, so I bought a new pair to try.  They are a longer length than a lot of running shorts, which I liked as I am not ever thrilled with my thighs.  I'll let you know how they work out.

I also bought some new colors of the Thorlo Experia running socks - these are my go-to socks and I just love them.  I still have my very first pair that I bought in February 2010 - they are doing great, and while expensive to begin with, obviously are well-made and last and last.  Plus, the colors!  I can't resist.

I was happy to see that they had Sweaty Bands at the store, and indulged in a couple more of them.  Again - I absolutely did not need these, but to see them in person before buying was great fun.  Oh, did I mention that we had a one-time 20% discount as members of the running club?  That certainly helped my shopping spree.  And we still have Jeff's coupon for another one, when we'll need to buy new running shoes. 

Here's the loot:
It's like Christmas in June!!!

And after all the excitement of the morning?  You can bet I took a nice nap, along with several Motrin chasers throughout the day, followed by a trip out for frozen yogurt in the evening.  All in all, a great day! 

20 comments:

  1. YAY my post :-)
    I really need to be in your running club as all that excitement before 630 am is just up my alley.
    as is napping. if by napping you mean I may snuggle with my kindle--which I do.

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  2. Certainly a great day and a very fun report to read. I like the run happy shirt too. We don't have a running store in my town but do have two in the next town but I usually buy my stuff on the internet.

    Well done on the 6 miles!

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  3. Running before the club even meets? That's some dedication right there. Especially getting up that early. Wow!

    I'm so digging that shirt! Cupcakes AND running? It's just so beautiful.
    And those are the best socks evah!! Love them.

    So glad you guys got a running store. Looks like a great place.

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  4. Too stinkin' fun!! I LOVE the new shirt!!! Very cool that they had your sweaty bands!!

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    1. Several of us practically dove into the tubs holding the Sweaty Bands - so fun!

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  5. What a great Saturday! So happy you guys don't have to drive miles and miles to find great running gear. Moving Comfort makes my favorite compression shorts that I run in all. the. time. Love their stuff!

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  6. What a fun report! And a running store AND a froyo shop in your hometown? That's just not fair!

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    1. If you ever come out for a visit, I swear you will cry at seeing how many froyo shops we have...you could do a walking tour of 4 of them and only cover about a mile!

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  7. Awesome job getting six miles in - woot! And it comes to no surprise that you went shopping - you have been waiting for that store to open for a long time. :D

    Hooray too for naps and frozen yogurt!

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  8. Wow - look at you and all the stuff! And all the running :D Love the shirt, but then it has cupcakes on it, so what's not to love???

    Laughing hard the the police officer!! I would have asked for an escort :D

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    1. I though of you when I saw the cupcake - they need to make a duplicate that says "Bike Happy"!

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  9. I'm so glad you finally have a running store. It's a great place to go for motivation and I know you and I are both motivated by new stuff!We just got a new Lululemon which is ridiculously priced but great quality. I look at the site when I don't want to work out. Their clothes only go up to a twelve and someday this ass will fit in those pants :)

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  10. I love buying new workout clothes - perfect motivation!

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  11. What a great way to start the day! (Oops - Did I just steal a line from Kellogg's Corn Flakes?) If I had that much fun waiting for me (except for the 2nd run) I'd get up that early too. Unfortunately, it's the dogs and the teen waiting for me to serve something up.

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  12. Fun doings. Thanks for taking us along. Love the new shirt and I'm totally with you on hating too clingy ones, especially for running. I'd never seen those socks--quite cool. I may need some to keep DH from appropriating my sport socks. Don't think he'd brave the bright colors! Great job on the running. Stay out of the heat.

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    1. Tish, that's the way to do it - buy pink and purple socks and he'll leave them alone! Good plan, lol!

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  13. Love that shirt! "Run Happy" so awesome.. :)

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  14. I love this report Shelley. And wow...great new gear! Very excited for your new "retail happy place". have a great Tuesday.

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