for women only

in an effort to squeeze one more event out of 2009, i found myself at the women's half marathon in "almost new hampshire" last weekend. this is not generally recommended as part of a post-marathon recovery plan, but a friend was running her first and needed the moral support, and i needed to make sure i wouldn't require full-on body support hose now that the two biggest eating months of the calendar year have arrived.

fashion no-no's abounded- as they tend to at foot races- shortly after the energy bean stop was "hot pink tights" and "brown shorts with sweaty crotch that looked like she'd wet herself". of course the first water station saw a mother of three, a former power lifter and body builder (yes, the ones in those tiny bikinis) and myself getting down to the sport's bras in order to trade clothes for an ensemble that allowed for a little more armpit ventilation and temperature control.

while it is easy to complain (no gatorade until mile 11, and a 'serve your own water' station around mile 5) stunning views of the atlantic, old churches, quaint lobster shacks and other new england paraphernalia brought me to my knees long before fatigue was able to.