Bowl of Berries

After I crossed the finish line and collected my swag I had to sit down for a minute.  I was quite tired but luckily not light headed or nauseous.  I decided to sit by the family reunion area in hopes Mom and Dad would think to find me there.  I started to try to stretch out a bit.  I figured Scottie would be wandering around.  I waited and waited and waited.  So I got up and decided to walk a bit.  I found a less crowded stretch of sidewalk and plopped down, I figured I could see people walk by pretty well and therefore could spot Scottie and/or my parents.  A lady say down next to me with a beer and I asked if it was the best beer she ever tasted, I said it was and then we started chatting.  She was from Maryland, running her first marathon and came in under 5 hours which was her goal.  She was also trying to connect with her family so we chatted about our races and what not then her family found her and while they were catching up she offered her cell phone to call my family, brilliant!  Thank goodness I remembered Mom’s cell number, now I just hoped she picked up her cell since I was calling from a strange number.  Luckily she did pick up and was surprised I had finished since they saw Scottie finish and since I indicated I was behind him they were all waiting for me to cross!  Oops.  So I said to meet me at the reunion area and once we met up it was lots of hugs and well wishes.  I was so happy to see Scottie but noticed his knee was wrapped up, which was not a good sign.  He said he had pulled over at one of the medical tents to get his knee wrapped right around mile 13, which is probably where I passed him but never say him.  It all made sense now.

I could tell he was in pain so I did what any girlfriend would do, I found the beer tent!  Scottie got two beers immediatly, I got one and dad got one.  It tasted so good!  Unfortuantly I could only drink half since I was sorta burpy from all of the gatorade.  But we found a nice piece of shade and enjoyed the festivities and chatted about the race.

We then decided to trek back to the car, I did not feel like waiting in line for the shuttle and figured the walk would be good for my legs.  Once in the car it felt so good to sit in a cushy seat but my knee started hurting again.  Once we pulled into the driveway of the beach house the real work began, getting out of the car and up the stairs!  I am sure the neighbors were laughing, we were truly hobbling up the stairs.  Once in the house, Scottie got a shower and I iced my knee.  I didn’t have much of an appetite so I snacked on some chips and salsa before my parents packed up.  Once they were on their way home Scottie and I decided to head out and find dinner.  We drove around for a good 30 minutes, which was actually nice since the sun was just setting.  We decided on Outer Banks Brewing Station, I had been there before but wasn’t thrilled with the food when I went but the choices were limited since it was off season and Sunday.  Luckily, this time was better.  I ordered a beer which was fantastic!  Scottie ordered two appetizers, buffalo shrimp which were a bit too spicy for my still unsettled stomach and some crab dip which I inhaled along with about a loaf of bread.  Mmmm carbs.  I ordered a BBQ sandwich with baked beans and delish hushpuppies and Scottie got a steak sandwich.  We were fat and happy.  We decided to try out the hot tub once back at the house which felt so good!  Since I didn’t get my usual ice bath I thought the hot tub would be just as good, it was certainly more enjoyable then freezing my ass off- literally!

After soaking I was spent, plus I could feel my cold coming back with a vengence so I took a dose of NyQuil and was asleep just after 8pm.

I slept ok but felt like crap the next morning.  Ofcourse my legs were sore but I was now completely congested.  Scottie and I literally had to stretch before getting out of bed for fear of injuring ourselves!  We hobbled around getting packed up but we did have a chance to sit on the back deck and drink coffee which was the perfect ending to the weekend, I didn’t want to leave!

The drive back was pretty uneventful but I really started feeling bad, but I figured I killed my immune system so now I was paying the price.

Two days later and I am still a bit sore, though I no longer waddle :)  I think my cold is getting better but I sound worse.  Luckily I have tomorrow off of work so I can rest and try and catch up with the house work and grocery shopping- oh joy!  I am still in disbelief that I did it, even as I see my race pictures.  My knee is still iffy, if it is still sore in a couple days I may go to the doctor just to be safe.  I am thinking about doing another marathon in the spring.  I know I know I am nuts!  But I really did enjoy the race, minus the last 3 miles or so and I would like to see how I perform without a cold!  But we will see.  For now I am going to focus on swimming and maybe a bit of biking.  I have a swim clinic on Saturday, hopefully I can breathe through my nose by then!  Next Saturday we have a bike race which I am excited about as well!

So I am still going to be active, just going to lay off the running a bit until the first of the year, then I will set some new goals for next year!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Fitness, Races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.