A Pinch of Miles and Smiles

Sunday’s Broad Street Run was my fourth time running straight through the heart of Philly. Without fail, the tradition of rain in the forecast was part of the mix, but thankfully nothing major until after the race. And those 10 miles through Philly were followed with many celebrations all across the city. Something about post-race beers and pizza are a whole lot better than the prep meals leading up to that morning.

Admittedly, I did not train as much as I probably should have this year, but I stuck to my goal of not stopping at all. And from what friends cheering on the sidelines said, I seemed happier than most when I saw them at mile 4 and starting mile 10 – a worthy accomplishment, I’d say. And the pain and tight legs can’t be seen with smiles like these:

Most of my meals last week were pretty simple, sticking to the basics of simple protein like salmon or chicken meatballs, easy-to-digest vegetables (an important descriptor for all us tummy issue runner folks), and rice or a big bowl of pasta. Snuck in a little treat of pizza from Pizzata on Friday night, whose founder just became a World Pizza Champion for Best Roman Style Pizza.

And after a few tailgating bites and beverages, pizza and beers were the bites of choice at Dock Street Brewery. More smiles shared here as we all got to sit down.

Those post-race beers had me feeling like I could run a few more miles, but instead I saved it for a long walk with Lucy before making my way back out to carry out celebrations with friends for the night.

Safe to say, I was happy to have today off to lounge, rest and pick at some snacks and leftovers before a big dinner for my first true post-race meal from Mahalo Hawaiian BBQ. This is easily a top 3 meal so far this year: chicken katsu and teriyaki chicken platter with rice and macaroni salad, and a side of gravy and katsu sauce. Plus, a grilled spam musubi.

Cheers to another year in the books, congrats to all those who ran and thank you to everyone cheering on the sidelines. Same place, same time next year. Time to stretch for the next week. Some exciting things ahead to come in May with more free time.

Reminder to you to stretch, it’s healthy 🤘