So I survived the WPIAL Alumni Run this morning and quite enjoyed myself actually. I even put it on the calander for next year, that is if the blisters I developed on this year's run have healed by then. At this point in time, it's questionable. :)
Although I enjoyed the run quite a bit (okay, I didn't enjoy those stupid hills in Mt. Lebanon) I think I enjoyed the breakfast afterwards even more. It doesn't get more Pittsburgh than the hole-in-the-wall diner we went to in Carnegie! Not one plate matched and there was Pittsburgh "stuff" all over the walls. And the omelet, toast, home fries and coffee I had? THE BEST! Let it be known, I love home fries.
Anyway, back to the run. There were about 20 people altogether, 19 of which were men. And then there was me. It got sort of comical after a while. Professional runner after professional runner walked through the doors and really all I could do was laugh. It was sort of a game of "pick which one doesn't belong"! But they were all running their morning easy run and I was running, well, a race of sorts. :) O was nice enough to run along with me though in the case that I dropped back far enough that I couldn't see where they were going.
That never really happened though. Like I said, they were running easy. I did look down at my watch one time to see we were running 6:30 pace. It was at that point that I decided to stop looking at my watch. :) The hills were a killer for me. It's hilly where I live, don't get me wrong, but Mt. Lebanon is SOOOO hillly. Big hills too. There is a reason they call that region the South Hills!
Anyway, a few observations:
1) I have never felt so old in my life! I'm 29 years old and graduated from high school in 1997. It's not often that I feel old, I suppose because I work with people mostly all older than me. But this morning there was only one person older than me on the run. And that person was my own husband. :) A couple of the guys had run for Penn State also but I didn't know them. That's what happens when they graduated high school in 2003! I was already graduated, working and married by that point! :)
2) I always forget how gosh darn skinny runners are. Especially guy runners. Male triathletes are much bigger and so my concept of skinny gets reset hanging out with triathletes all the time. But WOW - this morning I was thinking "these guys need a cheeseburger or two!" Of course they don't have to swim or have the power to make a bike go 25 mph for hours at a time, but geez, they are skinny. I know there was someone there that weighed less than me. I just know it.
3) Runners are a hardy bunch. Not that triathletes aren't of course. But I do think that I sometimes forget how tough a sport distance running is. The bike and the pool are easier on your body. Runners? They just run twice a day every single day for years on end. In all kinds of nasty weather (I hate to say it but I don't know many pure runners who really EVER run on a treadmill...but triathletes seem to love that machine). And that's just what they do.
Anyway - it was a lot of fun! And I'm glad I went. But now I have to go and ride my bike. We'll see what the legs think of that. Of course that's better than having to go out and run again, like most of my running partners from this morning are probably doing right now...
The crew from this morning.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!
So I survived the WPIAL Alumni Run this morning and quite enjoyed myself actually. I even put it on the calander for next year, that is if the blisters I developed on this year's run have healed by then. At this point in time, it's questionable. :)
Although I enjoyed the run quite a bit (okay, I didn't enjoy those stupid hills in Mt. Lebanon) I think I enjoyed the breakfast afterwards even more. It doesn't get more Pittsburgh than the hole-in-the-wall diner we went to in Carnegie! Not one plate matched and there was Pittsburgh "stuff" all over the walls. And the omelet, toast, home fries and coffee I had? THE BEST! Let it be known, I love home fries.
Anyway, back to the run. There were about 20 people altogether, 19 of which were men. And then there was me. It got sort of comical after a while. Professional runner after professional runner walked through the doors and really all I could do was laugh. It was sort of a game of "pick which one doesn't belong"! But they were all running their morning easy run and I was running, well, a race of sorts. :) O was nice enough to run along with me though in the case that I dropped back far enough that I couldn't see where they were going.
That never really happened though. Like I said, they were running easy. I did look down at my watch one time to see we were running 6:30 pace. It was at that point that I decided to stop looking at my watch. :) The hills were a killer for me. It's hilly where I live, don't get me wrong, but Mt. Lebanon is SOOOO hillly. Big hills too. There is a reason they call that region the South Hills!
Anyway, a few observations:
1) I have never felt so old in my life! I'm 29 years old and graduated from high school in 1997. It's not often that I feel old, I suppose because I work with people mostly all older than me. But this morning there was only one person older than me on the run. And that person was my own husband. :) A couple of the guys had run for Penn State also but I didn't know them. That's what happens when they graduated high school in 2003! I was already graduated, working and married by that point! :)
2) I always forget how gosh darn skinny runners are. Especially guy runners. Male triathletes are much bigger and so my concept of skinny gets reset hanging out with triathletes all the time. But WOW - this morning I was thinking "these guys need a cheeseburger or two!" Of course they don't have to swim or have the power to make a bike go 25 mph for hours at a time, but geez, they are skinny. I know there was someone there that weighed less than me. I just know it.
3) Runners are a hardy bunch. Not that triathletes aren't of course. But I do think that I sometimes forget how tough a sport distance running is. The bike and the pool are easier on your body. Runners? They just run twice a day every single day for years on end. In all kinds of nasty weather (I hate to say it but I don't know many pure runners who really EVER run on a treadmill...but triathletes seem to love that machine). And that's just what they do.
Anyway - it was a lot of fun! And I'm glad I went. But now I have to go and ride my bike. We'll see what the legs think of that. Of course that's better than having to go out and run again, like most of my running partners from this morning are probably doing right now...
The crew from this morning.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!