The Next Race

There is one universal thing all runners share: The thrill of the next race.

It doesn't matter if we ran a PR. Or had the worst racing experience ever. Or fell down at the finish line. Or DNF. Or broke a toe. Hurt a knee. Didn't fuel properly. Threw up. Got the euphoric Runner's High. Passed 28 people during the race.

We are always planning for the next race.

It's true. Really. One could even call it slightly masochistic.

We willingly run 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles knowing we will be sore and have to resort to "hobbling around" for a few days.

No matter how bad we feel running a race once we cross the finish line we forget. We forget the pain, the excessive sweat, the tears, the chaffing.

We hobble over to get the medal hung around our neck, and then we hobble over to the chocolate milk and snacks just to turn around  to our friends and say, "What's next?"

I've been hobbling around for three days. Today is the first day I feel back to my normal self. Even though I got a PR at the Little Rock Half Marathon, miles 9 to the end will forever be engraved in my quads and hamstrings, and I'll always be the girl who sat down and cried at the finish line. (Totally not ashamed.)

So what's next for me?

Races on My Radar
3/16 --- Lil Cheetah 5K in DeWitt, AR
4/6 ---- Capital City Classic 10K in Little Rock, AR
4/20 --- German Heritage 5K in Stuttgart, AR (if it doesn't start at 9 a.m.)
5/18 --- Dino Dash 5K in Little Rock, AR
6/15 --- Go! Mile in North Little Rock, AR

If those races don't tickle your fancy, go check out Arkansas Outside's calendar of races across the state. There are races all over the place so you really have no excuse not to get outside.

What's on your race radar? 

New Orleans: Take One

Good Morning Friends! I'm back from the Big Easy. And let me tell you. It was a good time. The city was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

The view from our hotel room was incredible. Staying on the top floor has its perks.

After checking in, we took off exploring. The city was alive and hoppin' as we walked through the downtown area.

We ate dinner at Draco's, a nice little seafood restaurant found at the bottom of the Hilton.

 The shrimp and grits were to die for. I don't think they could have tasted any better. The best flavors ever combined. I will have to try to recreate it, but I don't think it's possible. New Orleans has some of the best food I've ever had.

The group and I made our way out to get a drink on Bourbon Street. New Orleans has an open container law that allows people to carry adult beverages around the entire city. It was really cool, but I felt a little strange carrying my beer around out on the street.

I don't think anyone can ever be properly prepared for Bourbon Street. The smell alone is enough to make you not want to go back. But I had to have the experience.

We got home kind of late that night, and I was really tired from having been in the car for 8 hours. I don't know what it is about riding in a car that can make one so tired. It doesn't make sense.

Day One in New Orleans was a complete success. The food was outrageously good, and the entertainment was definitely exciting.

I have so much more to tell you. I have to break it into two (maybe three) posts, in order to do it justice. (P.S. that big green chair was $3,000 and there was one on every floor. And I tried to figure out a way to get it inside my car when we left...needless to say, it didn't work.)

Get ready for the New Orleans Rock n' Roll Marathon Expo and race recap tomorrow, as well as what we did on Saturday before the race expo. It's gonna be good so stick around.

How was your weekend?


What genre of food are you loving right now?

First Class Roommate

I've lived with the same roommate for 5 years. I mean that has to be a world record. And everyone thinks Samantha, the roommate, is the quietest, sweetest girl ever. Everyone loves her.

But nobody knows that she is an absolute loonybird. She's not a bit quiet. In fact, she never shuts up. And she has a bit of an attitude, which I like to think she picked up from me throughout the years of living with me.

The reason I bring this up is because everyone thinks the roommate has it together. That she is prim and proper and lady-like. Nobody ever sees what she's really like.

Last night I caught her in one of her finer moments.

This is mild compared to the fact that she likes to scream into the couch cushions and has conversations with me while sitting on the couch facing the wall.

And I always say, "Nobody's ever here." Nobody ever sees her like this except me.

Clearly she's insane and hilairious. And the comedic relief that I live with every day.

So stop saying that she's quiet. Don't do that anymore. Because it's a false statement.

The kid never shuts up. And if you listen to her, you wouldn't want her to shut up because she is the funniest person I know. She's a guaranteed laughfest.

Other classic Samantha/roommate moments:

• The time she made me go get Dorito's with her in a hurricane.
• The time her arm looked like death.
• The time she hid old tennis shoes in her trunk for 3 years.
• The time she made an awesome t-shirt.
• The time she lured you in with her photogenic self.

I hope I've cleared up any misconceptions of the roommate and her insanity. And now you know. So next time you see her, scream at her and I'd bet she'll scream back.

Daaaaaaaaaa Bears

Big things happening this weekend. My alma mater is having its first Saturday home football game. How bout them Bears?

Ever since I graduated college my loyalty to the Bears and UCA have grown X1000. I loved my school when I was there. But now that I'm not a part of such a great campus community, I find myself pining for the good ole days.

In preparation for this post, I searched old Facebook photos in hopes of finding some true gems to feature. And then I was hurt to find there are five, yes five, photos of me at football games over my college years. Let me just say, I know I went to more than five games. So how did this happen? Nobody can be sure, but I do know it makes me sad.

So this weekend I will fix this little problem. Photos will be taken. I can't let you get away without seeing the new purple and gray turf my four years of athletic fees helped pay for, along with everyone else. There will be tailgating, friends, fun times and football. Doesn't get much better than that.

Let's just hope the Bears pull out a W since they lost the last three games. #sigh. This will probably be one of those weekends where I pretend I'm back in college, and that can only mean two things. It's gonna be fun while it's happening, but I'm gonna pay for it later.

What was your favorite post-college fun where you acted like you were back in college?
Mine would have to be the time one of my sorority sister's was getting married. I attended a wedding shower that was accompanied with lots and lots of wine. And we had a reunion.

I remember running up and down the street with a glass of wine in my hand yelling about how my friend was getting married. Luckily, I didn't go to jail, which could have happened easily.

Valuable lesson I learned that night: Don't mix red and white wine. Not really sure why. It could have nothing to do with the mixing of the wines, but I'm sure the quanity did have something to do with this.

Do you have plans this weekend?