Spectacular Spectating

I came to the realization this weekend that I might like being a spectator at races more than competing in them.   

 

I spent Sunday morning cheering on my long-time running buddy, Michelle, as she completed her first marathon in Houston.  Despite the humid, drizzling weather and slick roads, coupled with a week full of sick kids and little sleep leading up to the race, she did great!  She let me run the last few miles with her, and I left her at mile 25 but raced to the finish to see her cross the line.  I think I was probably more emotional than she was upon finishing.  Yes, I cried.  But I also laughed a lot while running with her due to the hysterical signs that read:

 

"If it was easy, I would be doing it."

 

At mile 20, "your training runs ended here."

 

"That's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying."

 

"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."

 

"Cheer up, the worst is yet to come!"

 

"Where are you guys going?"

 

"You better hurry or you're not going to beat Oprah's time!"

 

Spectators passed out all sorts of food along the route:

-pretzels

-orange slices

-red licorice

-beer!

-bananas

-pickles

-and my favorite, the "Little Debbie refueling station," where a woman was seriously passing out LD cupcakes.  It would have been very easy to gain weight while running 26.2 miles on that course.  Fortunately, Michelle has more self-discipline than I do and limited our food stops to Gatorade and bananas. 

 

I'm so proud of her marathon finish and also of my friend Samantha, who finished her first half-marathon and then graciously hosted us all for lunch.  Rock stars, both of them! 

 

And each with two sporty kids to boot!  Thanks for letting me share in your exciting weekend, gals!