The Chilly Chili

This one time I was eating spaghetti and wiped my mouth on my sleeve which just so happened to be the brand new shiny white sleeve of the tshirt I had just received for running a race that day and I died a little inside about the fact that sometimes I'm a five year old.

So yeah, that happened 5 minutes ago and I don't really have a defense for it. Moving on...

Today was my first race since I started running again 2.5 weeks ago. It was the Chilly Chili which not only was the last race I ran a year ago, was not only the only race I have run every year since I started running, but most importantly a race that ends in a huge party and chili cookoff!!!

Gotta keep your priorities straight at all times, kids, otherwise you'll lose focus.

The Chilly Chili is also the first official race that kicks off the Syracuse running year so there are usually a lot of people that attend. I think somewhere near 900 people ran it today which is crazy considering it's winter. And 1:00 on a Sunday. And that there are such good BCBG sales going on at Lord and Taylor right now.

The race went pretty well considering I was finally able to run through 2 miles for the first time a few days ago. The weather was in the mid 30's which was MUCH better than last year when the day topped out at 6 degrees. I walked more than I wanted to, partly because I haven't been training on hills and partly because it was a mental thing. I finished with it as my slowest 5k to date but I still did it! And I am so happy I did. I'm pretty damn nervous about how many hours it will take me to run/walk my half marathon in 7 weeks (7! Ack!) but it'll be fun either way. I'm beyond glad to be back running even if I still do hate 5k's with a passion. My favorite part of the race was the little kids on the sidelines cheering us on, they get so excited when you slap their little hands as you run by. It's as close to being a superhero as I'll ever get :)

After the race my running friends and I hit the after party where I ate 11 different kinds of chili and somehow managed not to explode. The first time I ran this race 3 years ago was my first time having chili since I was a kid and I've since become addicted. My favorite one was a white chicken and sausage one and I wish I had the recipe because it was amazing! I'd eat it every day for a month, no joke. I was really cold after the party so when I got in my car I tried to change into a dry shirt and fleece without anyone seeing but I failed. Such is life I guess, there are worse things than a girl in a sports bra wrestling with her shirt in a Mazda3.

And that's all I got. I'm really tired because I had a rough day other than that so I'm giving the bun some time to run and chew things she's not allowed to and stand on my back while she tries to get on the coffee table and then I'm going to bed, maybe for a week. Well, at least until I have to get on a plane on Friday.