Cleveland or Bust- 26.2 & Beyond

I brought all of my stretching tools and my yoga mat, but when I tried doing a downward dog it was too painful where the blisters were located. So I just sat for a little while before changing and showering. So did Rob, after all he wound up running over 12 miles in total.

After I showered, changed into a race shirt and threw my medal back on, we headed to the restaurant alleyway to find something to eat. As I was hobbling crossing the road, some half marathoners were coming towards me and noticed the different color ribbon of my full marathon medal and gave me some praise and smiles. It felt really good, especially because they all looked like typical runners. And I don't, haha. Which makes it all that more impressive. We settled at a pub and I had an amazing french dip sandwich and french fries. It tasted amazing but I wasn't super hungry. 

Best. Sandwich. Ever.

So I have been selfishly tooting my own horn, but I am so proud of my Dad who achieved his own new distance PR the morning I raced. My Dad started running when I did, and even though I'm not sure if he has ever followed an official training program, he has slowly built up his mileage and is working towards the Boilermaker 15k this summer. We have done tons of 5k's together and a couple 5 milers and so he decided to sign up for the Cleveland 10k and run on his own. So in addition to following me around Cleveland, and running back to the hotel to retrieve my bag, he set his own PR and pretty speedy if I do say so myself. Congrats Dad!

Way faster then me today. Way to go, Dad.

Since I didn't feel like doing much walking Rob and I headed back to the hotel after dinner. First we considered getting dessert and even looked to see what might be open on a Sunday night, but the search was short lived. I laid in bed and found a Duck Dynasty Marathon on A&E and proceeded to dip in and out of consciousness. Side note: any other runners out there think of running when there are TV marathons on? I do now! I woke up to the door of the room closing and Rob walking in. I had no idea he had left! When I asked what he had been doing he said he had gone out to the streets in search of something sweet. He was really craving ice cream. I suggested to check out the room service menu and to splurge on dessert. They had apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, so we ordered one to split with an extra scoop of ice cream.  

Oh it was so cold/warm and yummy!

After dessert we went to bed and when I woke up the first thing out of Rob's mouth was, "do you feel like you were hit with a Mack truck?". I was sore pretty much from head to toe. Things that were not bugging me the night before were stiff and achey. My legs felt kind of okay but my neck, shoulders and back were very sore. Also, because of the blisters and changing my gait as I walked around, I had some really killer shin splints. I threw my calf sleeves on and we slowly proceeded to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We both had yummy breakfast wraps with potatoes. Since it was Monday morning we were surrounded by well dressed business types and then me, in my pajamas and with neon orange calves. I'm sure I was a looker! After breakfast we packed up and checked out of the hotel. We then headed over to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and arrived right after they opened. Along with about ten inner city school groups. Whoohoo, take a day off from work and see...Karma.   

Smaller building then I thought. 

We parked in the parking garage for the Science Center and we walked to the museum. It was CRAZY hot and humid out, even worse then the day before. I brought my medal with me and begged Rob to take my picture in front of the museum to make up for rushing off the day before. Notice my 26.2 headband?!

Once inside the museum we checked out all of the exhibits and I was very thankful for the escalators. Naturally I really enjoyed a small photography exhibit of 80's pop and rock musicians. There was no major (temporary) exhibition to see, so that was kind of disappointing. Overall, Rob and I had a good time and can check it off the list. Rob was just biding his time until we went in search for some local bike stores. We checked out the gift shop and I bought a magnet, might as well be a tourist.

As we were preparing to leave, out of nowhere my left foot suddenly felt very wet and my foot was slipping around in my flip flop. For a split second I actually thought that someone from above had spit down on us. Turns out the blister on the bottom of my foot popped, ewwww. We went outside and found a bench to sit on so I could clean my foot up with some tissues. My flip flop must have been rubbing against it and so it felt unpleasant during the walk back to the car. Good thing Rob gave me 48 hours of unlimited complaining! Since Rob had been so supportive during the marathon I thought I'd return the favor by driving him around Cleveland so he could check out some bike stores. I even promised that if one had a shop t-shirt I would buy it for him. We found "Joy Machines" and "Blazing Saddle" thanks to our handy dandy iPhone maps app. The guy (hipster) at Joy Machines was super impressed by my marathoness (yea, I made that up). We runners are sort of narcissistic aren't we?! Isn't that what this blog is all about, hehe. Either way, his adoration made me feel great!

Once we were done with the bike shops we decided to get on the road and find a place for a late lunch somewhere along the way. The trip back was uneventful. I was uncomfortable and probably should have stopped more to stretch, but I was ready to get home. I enjoyed the soda and junk food I had deprived myself of on the way down.

Oh yea, that happened multiple times.

So I sit here now, over two weeks since I ran 26.2 and haven't run a mile (or even a half mile) since. To be honest it just feels good to not have the pressure of training weighing down on me. My blisters have pretty much healed and I am convinced that most of my toe nails will be purple for a long time to come. Maybe I can find a shade of polish to match, so I can paint the others. I have been getting the itch more and more to run and I think since it is so beautiful out and I have nothing going on tonight, I might lace up the sneaks and hit the road. Maybe for 15 minutes maybe for a mile or two, but I just want to get back out there and feel the road under my feet. Which reminds me, time to go shopping for new kicks. If you see someone running around Fairport in a Cleveland shirt and 26.2 headband it is me!!!

I cannot thank you enough for coming along on this crazy adventure with me. Whether you have been here since January or are just joining me, I hope I have entertained you or helped you with your own journey. I'm considering changing the name of the blog, but other then that I am not going anywhere. Heck, I have a wedding to plan now!! From the bottom of my heart, thanks.

Thinking about joining the 26.2 club?

What should I rename the blog?

Maybe "See Steph Run"?