The City of Brotherly Love or Why Do They Park on the Median

When I last left you, we were gorging on Sonic, preparing to head north.  Almost 250 MILES north, to be exact-ish.

See...we'd made a commitment to go cheer on a member of the pod.  We didn't have to.  She didn't ask us to.  It's just that I'm fortunate to have a super supportive family, willing to travel to cheer for us.  That doesn't make them better than any other family (although they are, cuz they're related to me, duh), but it does mean that when we race, we usually have someone there ready to help us celebrate, and to motivate us when we're tired.  But I digress.

So, we hopped on the road, and traffic was actually really good.  It still felt like a long. Ass. Ride.  At that point, we'd been in the car A LOT over the last 10 days or so and I am NOT a road trip type of chick.  To me, going to Baltimore should require an overnight stay halfway there.

Anywho, we were

After an uneventful car trip, we checked into our hotel.  Because we didn't make our arrangements early (we didn't mean Janeen until a month or so before the race, I think), we couldn't stay in Philadelphia proper.  So, we were at the Renaissance Philadelphia Airport.  What was interesting was that our most recent two hotels were a Courtyard by Marriott and a Spring Hill Suites.  Now, neither of those is the same caliber as the Renaissance, yet both provided a nicer experience.  The employees were nicer, and so were the rooms.  So poop to you, Renaissance.

Once we were checked in, we tried to get in touch with Janeen.  We were unsuccessful at first, so we decided to take a little nap.  Now, because of my issues, Kelsey usually changes the sheets.  However, this was a king-size bed, so she had to get creative.  We kinda wrapped up in our sheets from home.  That was some of the best sleep I've had in I don't know how long.  Then, it was time to brave the mean streets of Philadelphia to see our girl (aka Nikki's person).

Philadelphia welcomes runners

The scenery in Philadelphia is STUNNING.  THIS is what we drove up to:

City Hall

Then, we found the hotel where they were staying.  It was a really cute boutique hotel, and a far cry from the corporate vibe of ours.  Janeen came down to meet us (who knew Philly parking was even WORSE than DC?).  She seemed touched by the sign that we made:

Serendipitously, Dania came by as we were in the lobby, and she got all mushy and teary-eyed at seeing her name on the sign (we'd never met her before, but if she's cool with Janeen, she's cool with us).  This emotional reaction let me know that Dania is a woman after my own heart.

Keila was upstairs napping. LOL

We didn't stay long because we could only park for 15 minutes in a loading zone and we were STARVING!  So after a few more hugs, we drove another 30 miles to dinner.  On the way, we saw the strangest thing:

People park on the median?

We got to the restaurant, and I was honestly afraid I might get lynched.  Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much.  The only place I've been that was whiter was Oregon.  I mean, this was a suburb of Philly.  No color?  Zero?  Kelsey made an executive decision for us to leave, which pissed me off.  They had lobster and steak and other delicious-smelling goodnesses.  But she was right.

We went about half a block away to Buffalo Wild Wings.  See, Kelsey and I are huge UFC fans.  And just because we weren't in DC didn't mean we wouldn't be watching.  We settled into our booth for 4.5 hours of bloody battle (on the tv, not us).

The wings were delicious, service was courteous without being obsequious.  All in all, a nice meal.

Kelsey declaring her love to MJB #runcheater

The next morning, we got up, and were greeted by this sign in the lobby.  Those are glitter letters. :)

The architecture was mind-blowing.

Keep in mind, we only had around 3 hours of sleep, so we were dragging a bit.  But, the race must go on. We headed downtown to the spot where Janeen wanted us to be.  Well...that was the plan.  BUT...we couldn't find it.  I'm map-challenged, and the map wasn't that great to begin with.  So, we found ourselves near the 1 mile mark, which was great because that meant we'd get to see them when they were fresh.  The only drawback: Keila is so little that we lost her in the crowd. Poop.

And then Janeen saw us.  And she was happy.

 

The winner of the Philadelphia Marathon.  For the inquiring minds who want to know, yes, yes he DID have bloody nipples.  Yuck!

 

Back on the road to D.C.

Post-race observations:
It's a LOOOOONG walk back to the hotels from the finish line of the race.
There must be a lot of death in Philly.  How else to explain the FOUR funeral parlors within an 8-block stretch of downtown?
Homeless people are just not that into Janeen.  She offered a guy her Macy's swag bag and he waved her away dismissively.  That was semi-funny.  What wasn't so funny was when a decently-dressed woman was picking through the homeless guy's bags that other runners had donated to him.  How are you going to go "shopping" through a homeless person's donated goods?  #trifling

Richmond...or why it's sometimes time to sit your ass down

I'm FINALLY ready to blog about our two most recent races.  I'll start with Richmond, since it was first.

Kelsey and I left fairly early (around noon) on Friday because we wanted to actually get to experience the expo.  Traffic was pretty good, and so we got down there around 2:15 or so.  We parked, and entered the expo.  I will admit...I felt a tiny bit overwhelmed.  There were so many people and vendors and stuff.  It was also a little dark or something.  I can't really explain it, but it was like a rundown hotspot (if that makes any sense).

After getting our numbers (mine wasn't used, of course), we started looking at the swag.  They had so many friggin' cahyoot shirts it was unreal.  We each bought 2.  They actually had WOMEN'S shirts that fit me.  What a concept, right?!  I was surprised that Kelsey was actually willing to get shirts for herself.  She's so unselfish and frugal that she usually demurs.  But, they had zombies on them.  My baby can't resist the undead.

These made me think of Nikki:

We left the expo, and saw Beverly, TK, Ev, and I can't remember the other girl's name as they were arriving.  Why did these heffas look like they were heading to a photo shoot?!  I WILL be dressed better the next time we're going on a road trip.  Lip gloss was popping.  Leather boots were worn.  Hair was laid.  I was jealous. LOL

We got lost getting to our hotel, but didn't panic.  You know...until we almost had a head-on collision on a back road.  Obviously, the natives have a different idea of what it is to yield.  After arriving, we saw that we were staying in Mecca.  Within walking distance were: Target, Michaels, Best Buy, a Mexican restaurant, a LIQUOR STORE, and Red Robin.  After putting our stuff away, we went to Target to get the makings for our signs.  See..as soon as Kelsey was done running the Richmond 8K, we were driving to Philadelphia to cheer on Janeen, Keila and Dania.  What would #athleticsupporters be without homemade signs?  Target was conveniently located a few doors down from the ABC store.  For those who don't know, Virginai regulates the sale of alcohol.  So, you have to go to a state-owned (approved?) store to buy liquor.

Then, it was dinner time.  Only first, I had to wait for Kelsey to stop playing with her phone.  When I met her, she had a flip phone.  Now she's Ms. Podcast/iPhone/weather checker extraordinaire.

Kelsey LOVES her some Red Robin.  I'd never been impressed, but this one was soooo gooood.  It was made even better by sneaking in a small bottle of somethin' somethin' to spike my lemonade.

After we'd dined sufficiently, it was time to go back to the hotel, set out our clothes, and relax.  Because I have a myriad of issues, with OCD being one of them, when we check into a hotel, no matter how nice, Kelsey puts some of our sheets on the bed so that I don't have to look at/sleep on hotel sheets.  I'm trying to get better, but it's still a problem.

Here's our stuff laid out for the race.  At this point, I'm feeling like I could MAYBE try to do the race, but not sure.  I laid my stuff out just in case (and cuz I like the way the photos look).  Stupid KMC for making me love this.
                                               KELSEY'S                                   AYANNA'S

We got some rest, and were awakened by a downpour.  I kept obsessively checking the Richmond marathon website and calling the number to see if there was a cancellation.  It was like being in school again, watching the slow crawl across the screen for the weather closings.  Alas, the race was ON.

I decided NOT to run.  It's bad enough that I have these injuries.  I've broken my ankle once before by slipping on wet leaves in the rain.  So, I decided to cheer instead.  We got dressed, and headed to the race. Once there, we posed for a pic like we were taught.

As you can see, Kelsey got less impressed as the race went on.

Until she got near the finish line where her wife was waiting for her.

And...the after shot:

I'm so friggin' proud of her.  I mean, I've known she was amazing for years.  But the joy and accomplishment I've seen as she completes each race makes me so emotional.  I'm happy she's happy.

Here are the rest of our Richmond pics, in no particular order: 

Reppin' #DemBeauties

Her personal #athleticsupporter

Group pic attempt #1

Group pic attempt #2

The only BGR DC ladies I could find

Yeah they do!

The woman approaching her saw her BGR BondiBand and came to chat.  Kelsey proceeded to leave her behind shortly thereafter.

Oh the HUMANITY!

POURING!!!

This is the wave that Kelsey started with, but not the one that she was assigned to.  She was assigned to Wave 4.  When she was done with the race, she said, "I beat you, Wave 4."  Ahh...it's the little things...
With her fast time, she actually should have been in Wave 2.

As I waited for her to finish, I was able to witness other people's races, including:

The White girl who was trying to run fast, but also saying, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, please don't let me fall" as she was flying downhill on the wet pavement.

The Black girl who stopped halfway down the hill, vomited, took two more steps, and vomited again.  I don't want to EVER run an 8K so fast that I have to vomit.

With her medal and the FREE throwaway gloves she got from one of the expo vendors.  Kelsey is an Army veteran, and her debit card still says Sgt. Kelsey Hill.  So, after thanking her for her service, he gave us some freebies of things he was selling.

Then, it was time for food.  Richmond certainly knows how to take care of their runners. Kelsey said, "Pizza, funnel cake, and beer are the best post-race foods."  I think she's right.

Up next?  Finisher pics:

I want to live here.

 As we were heading back to the hotel, this random guy approached Kelsey.  He'd just completed the half marathon, and mentioned that he saw her in the chute before the race began.  Now, I found several things odd about this:

1) The half marathon started 30 minutes after the 8K.  Why was he standing there scoping things out?

2) There were THOUSANDS of White women there.  Why was he checking out mine?

3) You'll see in a minute.

So, he said he noticed her because of her BGR BondiBand and her #DemBeauties shirt (hers says "Honorary BG" on the back).  He said, "You're an honorary Black Girl.  I teach at an HBCU, so I'm an Honorary Black Guy."  He said it like they instantly had some shit in common.  Like she was supposed to fall into his arms or something.  I.  Was.  Heated.  Teaching at an HBCU doesn't even give you a temporary Black card, let alone make you honorary.  Now, if he'd said "I only bone Black chicks," there would have been a different problem, but it would have been better to me.  Whatevs.

Back to the hotel room to shower, change, and get on the road to Philly.

But first...I had to lose my Sonic virginity.  I've seen the commercials.  Heard the stories.  But NOTHING could compare to the deliciousness that awaited me.

And THAT, my friends, was our Richmond trip.  Stay tuned for Philadelphia.