Southern Sole Sisters

Got a little out of the habit of actually typing out a weekly blog, however several blog posts have been swirling in my head since our Seaside trip. Gonna pump out a few over the next couple of weeks to clear my backlog and hopefully put out one or two that are actually interesting reads or maybe bring a fleeting smile to your face.

Being a runner sometimes seems to interject the content of  conversations with all things running especially if you put a bunch of fixin' to run southern sole sisters in a room together. Watch this video from College Humor and see if rings familiar or maybe you will just get a laugh.

If People Talked About Other Hobbies Like They Talk About Running

ANYway, in the week leading up to the Seaside running event there was a bit of this in us.. what shall I call it, obsessiveness....no, let's just call it extra special focus.  Well, the us that made up the rather large contingent of Southern Sole Sisters who set out for the Seaside Half Marathon (HM) and 5k. At one point, we even laughed at ourselves as we were asking the same people the same question and getting the same answer. Zelda knows the answer was Hot Chocolate Sweatshirt. This prompted me to make a list of the topics we all seemed to discuss a thousand times leading up to Seaside. By the way, please know I am not trying to call out any one sister and most often the one talking about the same topics, c'est moi.

• Weather, Weather, Weather...what if we had a dollar for every time one of us checked a weather app? We did our very best Al Roker or Kurt Mellish impressions to determine the exact weather in Seaside, Florida for every minute would be out in the elements walking to, running or relaxing after our running event.  And one weather app will not do. I would hazard to guess, we had at least four apps in play at any given time. Will it rain? Will it be too hot in the second hour of the HM. Hourly, you say, your app shows? Well, this one shows down to the minute.
• What to Wear? Naturally the weather discussion spawns the what are wearing for the event. Let me be more specific with these questions. What are you wearing to walk to the starting line and wait for the start? Are you wearing any throwaway items? Wearing on your bottom half? Top half? Head? Gloves? Sleeves? What are you bringing to wear after? (answer: Hot Chocolate sweatshirt) Functionality versus fashion is just as daunting when the weather is just a bit colder or hotter than expected.
• Consumption. As focused as we are on wearing the right clothes, it is always nice to feel rested, hydrated and fed with the right mix that will not haunt you over a long haul run. Not only does this come into play as we sit down for our lovely Great Southern Brunch but carries on through dinner and into the breakfast before "the" run. We seem to do all right until we are presented with the brunch Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's that are so delicious and lighten up the day. Then dinner, to have a alcoholic beverage or not....I'll never tell what exactly happened but all made it across the finish line so the choices must have been good ones!
• C to the E.  Not as pleasant of a topic but what goes in must come out. consumption=>elimination. Yes, we cannot get away from a girls trip like this one and not have discussed exactly what we need to do to be "ready" to run with all business completed. We do have a few who have been known to have sensitive stomachs.  Proud to report that all fared well with no emergency visits to a porta potty. Heck, one gal even finally tried the morning coffee and discovered a whole new flow.
• To Bag Check or Not to Bag Check..that is a question that required several rehashes of the same conversations. It was nice that Seaside offered bag check this year. You bringing your phone? Money? ID ('cause you might need it to buy Modica Mimosas after) Credit Card? Sweatshirt? Towel? Oh my goodness, wish we had recorded our first conversation and then hit replay, everytime an inquiry was made. But you have 9 women, not all always present for a topic and then maybe add in maybe little wine or whatnot. This requires the revisit of the bag plan at least seven times. 
• Getting There/Back also took on a life of its own. As we were not staying as close to the start/finish line, we had several options: Walk to the bus shuttle, ride a bike or just hoof it the extra distance.  Maps studied and gmap pedometer used to measure the exact distance and time. Trial walks made from start to house. This decision was not made lightly. Happy to report, we got there and back, all nine accounted for and none worse for wear.

I certainly own up to my own brand of "extra special focus" and was happy to be surrounded by others of my kind during this trip. Love ya, girls. Can't wait for the next group event to discuss all these same topics again (and again and again). XOXO