The kickoff party seemed pretty cool. I was running about 10-15 minutes late, and it seemed like everyone was already there. There was wine and assorted beverages available, and some food. There was also Muscle Milk, as they are one of the race sponsors. Everyone got a cute messenger bag made out of the recycled material they make the reusable grocery bags out of. The bags had some 2Toms samples, a pack of Cliffshots, and a list of essential items you would need for the half marathon/training program. The list doubled as a 15% coupon, which is good at their stores for the entire program...pretty cool!
It seemed like most of the people I talked to had never run a half marathon, and hadn't gone farther than a 5k. Not really what I was looking for in a group when I signed up, but I'll take it. Still gives me incentive to stick to the program for the weeks before the half. Plus, maybe it was only who I spoke with?
This first group run on Sunday is for only 4 miles. Usually, I do my long run on Sunday's with Lucy, so she is tired for the rest of the day, and is not a menace if we are not home. I don't want to take her on a group run with people who don't know her. I am thinking that I might get up earlier, run 4 with Lucy, bring her home, then run 4 with the group.
Today's run was a little bit sticky and gross, as you could literally see the moisture in the air while we were running. I spent most of the run battling with my new headphones. I always cut one ear bud off, so that I can hear the cars. My last pair was kinda torn up, so I used a gift card I had for Marshall's to get a new pair. I hate to spend big money on something when I am going to throw half in the trash right away! First off, the ear buds came with 3 sized buds. I left the middle one on, threw out the large, and saved the small on the counter to see if I liked it better. Yesterday, when cleaning the yard, I found the ear bud in one of Lucy's piles of fun! How the heck did she get it? Why would she eat it? Anyway, I am just glad it came back out at this point in the game! So I go for today's run with the new ear buds, with the right bud cut off. It felt like I was fighting with the cord for most of the run, but I couldn't tell why...until I finally looked down! The cord, which ran thru the inside of my shirt, was way longer than usual...longer than my running skirt! Crazy! I tried knotting it up, but it had some tangle free aspect to it, and the knot kept coming undone. Good time! At least I didn't throw away the old ones, as I can use these new ones on the boat, or something!