I'm from a small island on the Eastern Shore of VA. Pony Penning is HUGE. Everyone comes home for Pony Penning. It's the one time of year you get to relax, spend time on the beach, and see friends you haven't seen in YEARS but feel as though you've not missed a beat with. If you're lucky, you manage to get to the island the Friday night (after work) before Pony Penning, spend the weekend, the entire week (Pony Penning is Wednesday and Thursday), and the following weekend before having to return to reality. Yet, this year, I thought a Sunday race in Chicago would fit into my schedule! Right up until the last minute I toyed with the idea of bailing on the race and adding another RNR at some other point to get my Rock Idol this year, but ultimately after looking at the rest of my race calendar for the year I decided it was best to just knock it out and remember to plan better next year...NO RACES FROM MID-JUNE THROUGH LATE AUGUST!!! This girl needs her beach time!
As it was I planned this to be a quick trip, flying out Saturday morning, staying with Hyalker, hitting the expo, grabbing dinner, getting a good night's sleep, hitting the race, grabbing a shower, and heading home by Sunday afternoon to drive out to the shore for Pony Penning. So, as folks began heading home Friday night before Pony Penning, I sat packing a suitcase for a race weekend in Chicago and a duffel bag to leave in my car for the week to follow on the island - grumpy at best about my impending missed beach time.
My grumpiness quickly faded as I departed the train and saw Hyalker waiting for me. I have many great friends in life, but the friendships made through running are so genuine they easily erase a bad mood regardless of its cause. After dropping my stuff off at his place we made a quick stop to the expo and then my foodie friend treated me to the most amazing pizza restaurant I'd ever visited. Our bellies full we went back to his place to relax and catch up. After several hours of enjoying the city from him balcony while he got in a little work, we headed to another gem of a restaurant for some pre-race fueling. The day was so relaxing that as we pinned on our bibs and set out our race gear the beach was the furthest thing from my mind.
Race morning was pleasant as Hyalker lives within blocks of the startline. I was able to sleep a little later than a typical race morning, quickly get ready, head out the door for a quick walk to the start area,
After our pictures we ducked over to VIP in time to drop our gear, get a quick hug from Joe,
just in time to see a few friends, find a satellite on my Garmin, and hear the National Anthem.
After having spent several weekends each month with Sherry from February through early June not seeing her for just over a month seemed like an eternity. Luckily we had 13.1 miles to catch up! It was a hot day and we hadn't been training as should have been, but the miles passed easily as we chatted about our lives.
Though I hadn't run Chicago since 2011 the course also came back to me as we ran. We enjoyed the sites and the company; and before we knew it we were at the finish line and ready to celebrate another race being in the books, without once wistfully thinking of a missed beach day.
