Party like a runner

My lovely and speedy runner friend, Michaela (Mom and Running it ) organized a little post run fun in the Cades Cove picnic area. She taunted us early in the day with posting on FB about some sinful Cadbury egg cupcakes. And you KNOW this girl (ahem, me!) is gonna run for a cupcake! The thought of yummy baked goodness was enough to keep me motivated for 21 miles (well that and all of Terri's awesome encouragement). I may have snagged a few pics from M and the gang of all the post run fun.

My husband was waiting on us when we got back to the picnic area. Well the whole gang really was. Once they all came into view, I threw my arms in the air and boogied my booty like a crazy person yelling for the whole park to hear, "21 freakin' miles, baby!!!!!" And Michaela met me with a big ol' sweaty runner hug. You know those are the best kind! It felt so good to know that everyone there waiting was as excited about my new distance as I was.

The first thing I did when I got back was take off my shoes and went straight for one of the yummy burgers my hubby had made. I wish I had gotten a picture of it.. big, juicy beef burger topped with cheese! I threw that bad boy on a bun and a huge dollop of guacamole Michaela had made. It was so so good. Then it was time for my favorite post run treat...

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Will Run for Cupcakes!"][/caption]
Best cupcake ever, seriously! I don't really like Cadbury eggs. It has something to do with the whole yolk thing but when M told me she was making Caramel Cadbury egg cupcakes too I was stoked. Luckily the cupcake I picked was exactly that. Heaven.

We sat around and talked running a while. I borrowed Angela's stick and rolled that bad boy over my legs for about as long as I could stand which ended up being less than 3 minutes. haha
I wish I had been awesome enough like the rest of the gang and stuck even my big toe in the water but honestly I was just took hungry and stoked that I ran 21 miles to hobble down into the water. But take a look at them all being awesome...



And because I am a slow runner I missed out on all the planking fun with these girls. Look at them kickin' some plank butt after their long run!!!


The only thing awesome I did post run besides eat was sit on my tired rear end covered with a blanket because I was freezing. My friends were so kind to document it via photographic evidence for me. I was thankful for my husband allowing me the use of his strong legs for back support.
[caption id="attachment_1147" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chillin' post run"][/caption]

And while I enjoyed my rocky seat, Lindsay showed us her rad hooping moves.


After a little more chatting we all decided it was time to start packing up and heading home. We got one last group shot of all the ladies.
[caption id="attachment_1149" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Terri, Angela, Michaela, Lindsay, Brooke and me (only one sitting..haha)"][/caption]

I am SO thankful for such a great group of running friends.I only met some of these girls recently while I have known Terri over a year now but I am truly blessed to know them all and to be part of the great running community. These girls don't judge me for my slow pace, instead they push me to become a better runner and I love that! I'm so glad they let me run with them and hang out! We had such a great time hanging out together after our run. I cannot wait to do it again!