WIAW: I Can’t Say No
Well Happy Wednesday. I’m impatiently awaiting the arrival of my repairman so this ceiling leak problem can be done with already.
Yesterday he sanded the ceiling and now everything, I repeat, everything, is covered in a layer of dust. Good thing I have three days off next week, right?
I’m about to break out my new running shoes.
I thought I was a Nike girl, but I bought some Brooks yesterday and are hoping they work just as well as my tried and true pair of Nikes that I may or may not have worn through at least 8 races, two of which were half marathons. The employee at Runner’s Roost informed me that the Nikes were completely shot. Surprise, surprise. My knees could have told you that.
But while I wait for Mr. Maintenance to come and for breakfast to digest, I’ll do a little WIAW partying.
Thanks to Jenn for hosting our link up as always.
I sense a theme of “not being able to say no” this week.
Things I can’t say no to include:
Cinnamon rolls for breakfast:
And Vanilla Rooibos tea with hot frothy vanilla almond milk on top.
I can’t say no to free massages from my mom or invitations to lunch.
“The Green Thumb” from Smiling Moose
Spinach, artichokes, roasted red peppers, olives, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds with melted Swiss cheese and pesto mayo on a baguette.
It was early and I wasn’t quite hungry yet so I ate half and saved the other half for “second lunch.”
Which was eaten with an organic honeycrisp.
I can’t say no to organic honeycrips.
And although I totally planned on making dinner…
I can’t say no to an invitation to Bonefish Grill.
Also known as the world’s darkest restaurant, so please excuse the fact that I took zero pictures and accept this picture of my leftovers. #badblogger
Swordfish over Pumpkin Ravioli.
Plus un-pictured bread, bang bang shrimp and wine.
Then I proceeded to go home and fall asleep on the couch… at 9:30. I know how to have a good time.
When I woke up at 10:15, I downed half a banana and some peanut butter and took my zombie self to bed.
Clearly, I can’t say no to a bedtime snack.
Things I would like to say no to include waiting any longer for maintenance to show up and going to work this afternoon.
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What can’t you say no to?
What You Will See at an Expo
I’ve only ever been to two race expos (both for the same race in different years), so I’m probably not a pro, but I kind of find the whole experience fascinating and amusing, so I thought I’d share some of the photos I took while I was there on Saturday.
And yes, yes that is where I happened to drop my phone in a puddle of rain. And no, it wasn’t a ploy to get the new iPhone.
So what will there be at an expo?
There will be too many little stations like this that you will have to make your way through just to get everything.
And you will wonder why they can’t just stuff it all in that bag they give you… at the end. Because that makes total sense, right?
Your race shirt will either be way too big or way too small (or way too ugly, but that’s a different story) and you will only be able to exchange it if the volunteer you ask feels like being nice.
You will finally get your bib and have to figure out what new weird timing chip they’ve come up with this time.
You will finally get your swag bag and wonder how many free samples you can fit in there before you leave.
You will watch people pose with the weird running mannequins and contemplate whether you want to become one of those people. Just walk away.
You will see the race day weather chart and be relieved that it will neither be extremely warm or extremely cold. Unless you live in Colorado and the weather could change at any moment.
You will see super ugly running gear at ridiculous prices. Please can I pay $100 to wear this horrendous color?
You will see weird things.
Really weird ugly things.
You will be told you can’t have your race fortune until you yell the fortune teller’s name as loud as you can. Gigi was lying — I didn’t yell and she gave me my fortune anyways.
You will wonder why people are walking around in work out clothes. The race is tomorrow, sillies.
And you will stalk the Disney Marathon tent. Again. Because I’ll you’ll take any excuse to go to Disneyland.
You will see a million stickers that you would love to stick all over your car. If not for the fact that you’re leasing your car. I keep asking if I’m allowed to buy a 26.2 sticker if I’ve run two 13.1 mile races.
And in addition to stickers, you will see headbands, socks and shirts that you will suddenly think you desperately need. You don’t.
Then comes the fun part. Where you get to get all hopped up on energy chews, gu and bites. Not to mention whatever “magical elixirs” they’re trying to convince you you need. You still don’t.
And more alarming than the fact that there millions of adults walking around OD’ing on energy chews, is the fact that those adults are encouraging their rambunctious children to eat them too. I don’t want to be around for that car ride home.
You will wait near the Larabar and Barenaked Granola tents until a rush of people come, because there’s a better chance you can grab an entire handful of free samples without A) anyone noticing and B) anyone trying to talk to you.
And even though I’m pretty sure the point of the expo is to get you to spend money, you’ll probably leave a little more excited about your race.
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Have you ever been to a race expo?
Or dropped your phone in water? I’m raising both of my hands.
Top 5 Weekend Moments (& the Bottom Three)
#1: Pumpkin pie-flavored froyo.
Need I say more?
And why am I the only one who thinks cold hard gummy bears are not appealing?
#2: Pumpkin oats for two.
It was cold and rainy on Saturday and although the weather was making me incredibly nervous about what race conditions would be like on Sunday, I welcome any weather that makes hot pumpkin oatmeal even more comforting.
Especially if you get to share the experience with someone else 🙂
#3: Pumpkin raisin cinnamon rolls.
I nearly trashed these after waiting an hour and seeing no rising going on, but I think the fact that it was freezing in our apartment had something to do with it. I let them rise while I was at the race expo picking up my packet, and finished them up when I got back.
Cinnamon rolls for dessert > cinnamon rolls for breakfast anyways, right?
Also, I was too lazy to take a picture of the finished product, but you all have excellent imaginations I’m sure 😛
#4: Finishing my second half marathon.
With a smile on my face and a sprint to the finish.
The race went really well, except that my knees are killing me today and my hips were SO sore after I stood still for an hour waiting for Joey to finish (he did the full). I wasn’t sore at all last year, so I’m not really sure what’s making the difference this year. Maybe I aged 10 years since this time last year?
It was chilly, but there was no rain or wind, so I was happy and miles 1-7 flew by so fast! Around mile 9 I was starting to be over it, but I told myself to stay in the moment and stop counting how many miles I had left and it totally changed my attitude. The half and full routes split up at mile 11.5 so I was on my own the rest of the way and I dominated it. I felt awesome and was so excited to cross that finish line. Seeing my family right at the end was so motivating too 🙂
Some days I don’t really feel the best about my running. I’m my own worst critic and not always in a good way, but I will always remember the feeling of accomplishment, joy and overwhelming pride I felt when I sped towards that finish line yesterday. I may not feel that way every time I run, but I will always have that moment and that’s what will keep me running.
So what could top that?
#5: Watching Joey finish his first marathon.
Joey is the most carefree person I’ve ever met. He doesn’t take things too seriously and he totally bailed on marathon training last year, so to say I knew he would finish it this year would be a lie. Every time he has woken up early to run before work, or just ran to work, or attacked a 2-3 hour training run on a Saturday morning with all the optimism and self-confidence in the world, I have been amazed and inspired.
I cried when he ran past us at the finish line.
I cried when I hugged him afterwards.
And I cried later when I told him “I can’t believe you ran a marathon today.”
I didn’t think I would be so emotional about it, but the sense of pride I felt when I say him running strong after 4 hours was more than I can put into words. I’m so jealous of what he’s done. Maybe one day, when I get my mental running state into check, I’ll run a marathon, but for now I’ll just keep getting teary-eyed when I say my boyfriend is a marathoner.
We run past this llama everyday — it only felt right that he should be there to see Joey finish 😛
Bottom 3 moments of the weekend include:
Dropping my phone in a puddle on my way to the race expo.
Not getting to go to Snooze because there was a two-hour wait.
I like pancakes, but I don’t like them that much. I’ll take Biker Jim’s instead though. Especially if there’s no wait.
And if I can eat an order of charred tahini cauliflower to myself.
Filling up on the best cauliflower ever > having room to finish my vegan dog.
And not having proper soup or grilled cheese making materials for dinner.
I just wanted this.
Fact: Blending up a can of diced tomatoes with some spices and grilled quesadillas in not the same as homemade soup and grilled cheese.
And now that I’ve ended this post on such an optimistic note, you should probably go back and read #4 and 5 again 🙂
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What did you do this weekend?
Have you ever watched someone finish a marathon (or any race for that matter)?
How do you like your grilled cheese? I was a total Kraft singles and a mound of ketchup kind of girl most my life. I think my tastes are a bit more refined now, but I’ll take anything as long as it’s cheesey and melty.
Lauren Loves Good Food 