Refreshed, Recharged and Reinvigorated. I’m back!

I’ve been padding around for the past month in a giddy haze, wondering if running the fastest marathon of my life had all been a dream. Did I really qualify for Boston?  Or had it been a wonderful, fantastical dream?  Nope. I DID IT, POODLES!  Relive the splendor HERE.

And now I’m back! 

Refreshed, recharged and reinvigorated.  I’m also loaded with delicious craft beer and have a belly full of lobster rolls. I warned you that would happen. I’ve been running. But not Crazy-Hansons-Method-style. Dare I say I miss my old training plan? I do. 

Good Old Hansons Method

For as much as I bitched about it, it worked. I shaved roughly 26 minutes off of my recent average marathon time. WE’RE TALKING ALMOST A MINUTE PER MILE FOR 26.2 FREAKING MILES. I still can’t believe it. I also bettered my 6 year old PR by over 3 minutes. I’m 43. I ran that shit in my 30s, during the darkest period of my life. The finish for me, was actually my new beginning. To PR NOW? I have no words. None. Other than to say: Age ain’t nothin’ but a number. And numbers are dirty liars. Training with the Hansons Marathon Method made me a stronger, faster, more confident runner. Expect a review of what I liked.  Do rest days count? And what I disliked. I’m looking at you Tempo Run.

I miss our weekly recaps. *Sigh*  Although, I must admit I am loving running “naked” which is less #freethenipple and more #ditchthegarmin. I’ve been running when I want, where I want, and for how long I want. It’s been glorious. And if I don’t feel like running? I don’t. It’s ok to NOT run. The Run Police won’t find you, take your “Official Runner” card and make you run Fartleks until you hurl.  Trust me. They won’t. It is ok to do yoga, spin, walk, hike, lift, plank and/or sit your ass on the couch and watch Bravo. Especially after a marathon. I’ve been doing it all. And then some. In the spirit of My Weekly Hansons Recap, here’s my One Month Post-Hansons Recap! Sit tight, Poodles. Colby is back!  

Random floating poodle at Foxwoods Casino. I died.

• Immune system FAILURE! Right after the marathon my body pretty much said: Aren’t you cute? NOW SIT YOUR ASS DOWN. And to make sure that happened, it gave me a respiratory infection, a hideous cold sore I fondly named, Doug, and double eye infections. AGAIN. I was a hot mess. I took a few days off from running, did lots of yoga then promptly hit the trails when Doug skipped town.  
  

  Running wild!

   
• Drunk Otis ditched his cone! Then promptly danced on the coffee table. No one was happier about getting rid of that cone than Leon James and Evil Beagle, his brother and sister. Yes. I have 3 dogs. Yes, I also own stock in Dyson. He used that thing like a bulldozer and flipped Evil Beagle over at least three times. She was not amused. I swear she gave him the sock that nearly killed him. He’s back to his Drunk Otis self. Hanging out at cyclocross races, acting like a drunken frat boy and retrieving dismembered deer legs instead of his stick. He’s a mess. But we love him.  
  

  Flipped ear, don’t care.

     
  

  Table dancing, coneless.

     
  

  Fetch!

   
• Delicious IPAs! There are too many to note. But I will definitely keep running just so I can drink scrumptious craft beer. I also discovered a very cool pint “glass” at a cyclocross race of all places. It keeps beer (or non-alcoholic beverages, but, honestly, why even bother?) ice cold. For a long damn time. Hydro Flask. Check it out. Don’t tell them I sent you because they have no idea I exist. I just loved the product and want to share it with my Friends.   
  

  Drunk Otis couldnt handle the Hydro Flask.

   
  

  A lil’ punkin for the cook!

    
  

  A beautiful something is right. Delicious.

   
• I had surgery.  Plastic surgery! Simmer down, Poodles. It was scar revision surgery to correct a nasty facial scar that I got while training for marathon number 7. Feel free to relive that horror HERE. No, I don’t suddenly have butt implants and a trout mouth.  I know, you’re totally disappointed. Everything is healing up nicely. I am thrilled with the results. Vain? You bet. But that goddamn scar had to go.  
  

  Scar? What scar? Just happiness up in here!

   
• Date Nights o’ Plenty! Ain’t love grand? Funny how that happens when you’re no longer exhausted and running your face off.  My Other Half and I saw Kevin Bacon in Hitchock’s Rear Window. It was awesome! Not quite the movie- which we LOVE- but an interesting take on the story. (We also saw Criss Angel perform at Foxwoods Casino and now I want to be a street performer.  Or at least get sawed in half in a sequined red dress. #truestory) Gotta say though. He looks good that Kevin Bacon. And just think: You’re now officially one degree of separation from Kevin Bacon.  So there’s that. 🙂  
  

  Starring Kevin Bacon.

   How long do you take off from running, post-marathon? Have you ever experienced immune system failure after a marathon? Or worse, had a “Doug” of your own? Have you ever met a celebrity? 

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