It’s been a week of reminiscing as I’ve been reminded of a lot fun memories that happened around this time of the year.
Two years ago , in a lot of ways spontaneously, my husband and I flew to Europe (Spain, Italy, and France). We ran Rock n Roll Madrid, Spain April, 27th as our first out of the country race.
It was an absolute blast and super interesting to see how races are somewhere besides the States. I wrote about it here, but one of the funner tid bits was that there were no portapotties!! Or like, very few. I remember as a I ran, seeing dudes just pull up to the side and do their thing, lol!!
Another interesting note was that the water stations consisted of water bottles, not cups. It pained me a bit to see people take sips and then toss the bottles but then remembering how expensive bottled water was in Europe, I decided to hoard some and run double fisted.
There were no waves. As soon as the horn blew, everyone just went. There were corrals but I wasn’t sure the purpose if everyone started at the same time, lol! And boy, was it crowded! Oh , and it was vastly men running and my bib had a big fat “F” for female.
One of my fave race pics — having fun doing what I love (and in Spain!)
Anyway, Miranda @ThoughtsAndPavement commented on my recap that she’d run the race this year and reignited the fun times I had during the race and my time in Europe. She also noticed many of the same things, most especially how crowded the race was.
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This weekend last year , I flew to Ohio, also sorta last minute, to see my brother run his FIRST half marathon. He had been training hard, and I was so proud of him. I said out loud to my husband after reading one my brother’s training runs (he texted them all to me ❤ ) how I wished I could be there to see him. My husband immediately got me a plane ticket.
I’ve written about my brother before and his amazing transformation. A total non-runner, overweight, sedentary but awesomely good guy. Last year, he lost over 60 pounds and completely changed his life.
The Flying Pig Half Marathon last year was his first half, and he shocked the hell out of me by finishing in 2:10, smashing his sub 2:30 goal.
Me and the bro after his first half marathon
He ran a second half marathon later in the year with a lofty goal of snagging a sub 2 hour half. And you know what? He did it!!
Oh what fun to look back at such amazing memories. I sit here drinking coffee and typing and smiling…at how wonderful life is ❤
–What are some of your favorite running memories?
