the sag wag, oh no

I ran my first race of the year today.  It was a family affair: my mom spectated, my uncle ran the 5k and I ran the half marathon.  The weather was perfect: sunny and low 60's.  It was a really good sized race-- probably about 350 in the half marathon.  It was an out and back format which meant that were 10 water stops (that's awesome if there are any non-runners reading).  However, there was a hill that was downhill going out and uphill finishing.  It's called "Murder Hill."

For the first mile I was following 789.  He caught my eye: his right arm had a sleeve of tats, he was sporting spandex shorts, he had a long, gray, pointy beard, and he had one of those earrings that force a hole in your ear.  You would have noticed him too.  After I got over my fascination with him, I chatted with him for the next five miles.  We use the same flavor Gu, so it was bound to happen.  Then, sadly, we parted ways. He sped along, and I gave him my blessing.

Here begins the sob story.  My hamstrings hurt and then got really tight, decreasing my gait.  Then my left hip started hurting.  Then, I had to walk because it hurt too badly to run.  Then it started to hurt to walk.  So, I ran, which hurt just as much, but is the point of a race.  I saw a golf cart and waved him down.  I said can you give me a ride. He said, "That's why I'm driving this thing around."  So, I hopped on.  He told me I'd gotten really far (I was at mile 11), but I told him I didn't want to chance it because running and walking both really hurt.

The first sag wag driver was a geology professor; the second one was an urban designer.  So, I was kind of glad I caught it.  They were really fun to chat with and got my mind off the pain-- as did the sitting.

I borrowed the professor's phone to call my mom to tell her I'd aborted the mission so not to get upset when she didn't see me.  After the sag wag delivered me to the finish (don't worry, I didn't cross the line), I saw 789 chilling.  I asked him how he did: he made his goal.  I told him I ended up golf carting it.

I then went out to brunch with the fam.  They were impressed with the fact that I finished 11 miles.  The food was delish, and I took some pain killers.  We went by the sponsors table, and a guy came up and asked me if I wanted a massage.  I asked him how much it cost.  Free.  So, by all means.  Geoff gave me a much needed (haha, get the pun) back massage.  He told me I needed to get massage and chiropractic treatments.  I told him I would (when my insurance kicks in). I came home and lay on a heating pad.

I had a good time even though it was nothing of what I expected.  I'm detecting a pattern.