Aurora's Blog

Picking up from yesterday –

I was talking about the cool inspirational signs from P.F. Chang’s.

(Side note: P.F. Chang’s has branded this race so well that on a few occasions when I’ve talked to Arizona residents, they ask if I’m doing the P.F. Chang’s in [insert city here], even though as far as I know, it’s only the title sponsor here. Good job P.F. Chang’s, and thanks for the enthusiastic team you had out there!)

Speaking of inspiration – let’s talk about ice cream. Yum.

I’d remembered to stuff some money in my sports bra in the morning, because I’d seen a Dairy Queen commercial while I was in AZ and remembered there was one on the course.

I love Dairy Queen and don’t live anywhere near one, so I was totally not above taking a detour for some ice cream. I wondered if memory served me right, if it was still there, and if I’d hit in in the race by the time it had opened.

Sure enough, I did see one across the street! And the door was open. An employee looked to be setting up some tables and chairs outside. I yelled over asking if the restaurant was open. She said no. This was at 10:17am. I’m guessing if I had seen it just 13 minutes later, it may well have been open.

I suppose it’s better this way. What kind of person eats ice cream in a half marathon? Again, totally not above it, but perhaps not the best example to set if anyone is watching.

Maybe not so bad though… “Look! Exercise is fun. And you can have ice cream!” (Spectators immediately throw off their outer layers of clothes to reveal workout gear, and the whole city of Arizona walks/runs together.) Imagine what could’ve been…. or not.

I wasn’t able to stop at Dairy Queen, but I did talk to some people who made a McDonald’s stop. So, I was not alone in my fast food yearning.

During the race, I saw one of the coolest running signs I’d seen all year. Dear future spectators, it seems like the challenge is on! This sign was shaped like a runner (and had the face of presumably their runner), and it had moving parts that someone cranked from behind.

I kept slowing and slowing throughout the race. For one thing, I was tired! Marathons are tough. And I think I was still feeling the marathon from the week before.

I wore my orange Goofy shirt. Even though I felt that I looked cuter in other things, I just wanted the world to easily excuse me when I looked like a slow zombie. (Of course that also meant that people might’ve thought, “Um, I think if you did Goofy you’re supposed to be some kind of real athlete. Pick up your speed, girl!”)

Or, perhaps more likely, no one cared about a stranger.

And I will finish up talking about this race tomorrow.