Three weeks, four races, and a fun stay in Belgium
The past few weeks have been packed with fun athletic and family times! Starting with Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon weekend, one of the biggest annual events in the Queen City (weekend also known for being my birthday weekend… I don’t believe in coincidences 😉). For those of you who know Arnaud and I and hence know that we usually stick to the races where the number of laps to complete can be counted on the fingers of one hand (or on a single finger in Arnaud’s case), do not fear, we didn’t participate in the said marathon but well in the mile (yup, I am talking about that strangely random distance that for some unknown reason, everyone loves here in America) which took place on the first day of this sporty weekend. A road mile, that was a first for us and it was a lot of fun! For us who had never taken part in any road race here in America, we got the total experience: national anthem at the start, big banner at the finish line, live coverage on facebook for the men’s elite field, and piggy mascot at the finish (flying pigs are a symbol of the city). I was lucky enough to cross the finish line banner in first place for the women’s race (however, the banner that I was supposed to tear down while crossing it didn’t break despite the combined effort of my imposing weight and impressive speed *hum). Arnaud fought for first place until the very last meters alongside the past-five-editions-winner and ended up at the second place for only but a few 1/100th of a second. His time (4’14) was pretty darn good considering that it was his first time running the distance (and first time ever racing more than 800m ;-)), that it was on the road instead of on a track wearing spikes (true track athletes know what I’m talking about) and that it was really cold and pouring rain… I am slowly getting closer to my ultimate goal: getting him to admit that he should pursue his running career on the 1500m, the best event of all (by far) ;-).
After this fun weekend, it was time for me to leave for three fun weeks in Belgium (Arnaud couldn’t join me this time) and enjoy some great times with my cute nieces and nephews, family and friends. Obviously it went by too fast! On the running side, I took advantage of my stay to take part in the Interclub (Belgian clubs championships) in Lokeren, where I raced a 800m for the first time in three years. I was quite surprised and pleased with my time (2’10”17) -enough to remind me how lactic acid can hurt 😉 One hour later, I was already at the start of the 3000m, but it is easy to push through the fatigue when you are running with the pretty uniform of the Blue Army and you have your teammates cheering for you all over the place! Our women’s team finished at a nice second place in the highest league, while the men won this same league for the billionth time in a row (I lost count) :-). After two more relaxing weeks with numerous friends and family reunions, I took part in one last race before heading back to Cincinnati: a 1500m in Oordegem with a time of 4’22″32. I must say, after two years almost completely out of competing due to multiple injuries, it feels great to slowly get closer to my PB’s and see that all the work, the numerous k’s and sessions endured (and all the delicious cakes eaten :p) are finally paying off! 😉
After this race that took place late at night, it was already time early the next morning to hop into my flight heading back to Cincinnati! Needless to say I was thrilled to reunite with my cute hubby after all this time!
Let new adventures begin!
Love!
