Friday, January 11, 2013

Race Envy and Expo Adventures

I'm not going to pretend I don't have race envy right now.

Not only is there the Disney marathon this weekend,* but the Chevron Houston Marathon is in town just to rub the salt in the wound. This race is evidently a Big Deal--something that I didn't even pay attention to a mere year ago. The Expo, however, is free and open to the public; I popped by after a day of training for work (when I really needed a stretch anyhow).

I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. Some things of which I wasn't a fan:

  • For the most part, most of the vendors seemed to be selling a lot of the same type of thing (honestly, I don't know what a "good deal" would have been). 
  • I tend to be shy around really aggressive salespeople. 
  • I had to dig for bigger sizes.
  • Got blocked by people who wouldn't move at a couple booths.
I did, however, pick up a tank in pink that I had been lusting after for some time. I also registered for the Rhythm and Blues 5K in February (aka my race within a race) and got some free sandals for my trouble. The only freebie of note were some gloves.** I lingered over some reflective clothing, but didn't want to spend too much money.

Next year in Jerusalem ... so to speak.
It was interesting to see myself as part of a larger community, though. And, yes, it did feed those marathon dreams.

Earlier today, I was discussing running with several of my classmates. I received the inevitable encouragement: "Of course you can run [race of increased mileage]; it's only [# of miles more]." And really that's why my brain can't have nice things--it's always getting cluttered up with wacky ideas like that.

What's 23 more miles, eh?




* Someday.
** My body may be XL, but my hands are small, bitch. Let me choose my size.