the wolfpack- part 1

It was wet. It was rainy. It was long. But, WE DID IT! No. 2, Minnie, and I completed the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon! Wahooooooooooo!

I have to say, this run was my favorite and most fun. Sure, I didn’t have my fastest time, but it was the most meaningful. Here is the play-by-play of the events leading up to race day:

Minnie and I arrived at No. 2’s around noon on Saturday. We unloaded our bags, dropped off Baby D, then headed off to get some grub because my stomach was eating itself. We made our way through the Chili Cook-off to a delicious little Mexican place where I binged on tacos and chips and salsa. After we caught up on gossip and sufficiently stuffed ourselves, we adventured over to the Race Expo (oh, how I love touring through downtown Allentown…NOT).

Minnie and I have had experience with the race expos and we know they can be a bit congested and overwhelming. No. 2 was so not prepared for the madness. The look on her face and I could see the anxiety building. We rushed through to pick up our bibs… stopped by the ‘I’ to pick up Madonna’s loot… and headed over to get our race goodie bag.

After successfully maneuvering these obstacles, we saw Christopher McDougall, author of “Born to Run.” Minnie and I were inspired by this book; No. 2 believes Christopher McDougall is the second coming of Jesus. Let’s just say…she is a super-fan. So after some debate whether a photo was necessary or not, we started chatting with him about our running and how motivated we were by his story of the Tarahumara and their running prowess. Then, No. 2 divulged that she too has developed a running moniker, “White Lightning,” and proceeded to share that this evolved from her ‘streaker days.’ I would say that Christopher McDougall was hit with a reality that he didn’t know how to react to and instead, just laughed and said that it was better than his, “Lumbering Bear” nickname. So thus was the beginning of the Wolfpack…

After a quick stop back at No.2’s apartment, we made a trip to Target to pick up some wet weather protection , we then went to dinner for some major garlic and pasta loading at Mama Nina. YUMMMMM!

Garlic + Cheese + Carbs = Heaven.

After stuffing ourselves, we added more pleasure to our pain by getting some homemade ice cream. I am not a huge fan of dairy, but my goodness, this was yummy and was not to be resisted. With full bellies, we headed back to No. 2’s to work on our hydration and relax before the big race. After some more gossiping and planning our next races, with eager anticipation, we headed to bed.

Look for part 2 of the wolfpack’s adventure later this week…