That’s right: when.  But that’s another day.  Right now, let me tell you what I learned from being a spectator at the Rock and Roll marathon in St. Louis today.  I watched from two different vantage points.  I started near the 8 mile mark which is where the 1/2 and full marathon runners split.

8 miles in 1 hr 14 minutes. I got this.

Then I walked across the park to catch the marathoners near the 21 mile mark.  Crazy that while I walked a total of 10 blocks, the route the racers took them 12 miles.  I live in the perfect spot for viewing this course.  And have been inspired to run.  Really run.  And now that I’ve seen this race I’m more prepared.  Mostly more prepared for what I wear.  The running part is going to take a significant amount of thought and training.Running skirts are a thing!  I love it.  I saw a variety of styles and some even have ruffles.  I always thought I’d be the person in a tutu, but I think being the serious athlete I’ll become, a running skirt is the better balance of feminine and sporty.

Classic running skirt

with ruffles!

I will absolutely have my name or some other distinguishing feature on my shirt.  I found myself yelling “Go Cards” at folks wearing Cardinals shirts, “Go Tigers” at Mizzou shirt wearers, and so on.  The best ones were the ones that had their names on them.  I love the idea of strangers shouting my name as I run past.  Which I did every time, so I believe other spectators did as well.  Think of the boost you get from hearing your name called out!

You cheer for her coming and going!

Matty gets the cheers!

You can only yell "Go Jack" or "Halloween guy" with this

I’ll also need to accessorize.  Leg and arm warmers are great ways to add color.  I’m sure there’s some function as well, but right now, I’m focused on attracting attention.

Arm Warmers!

Colorful socks!

Creating the marathon playlist on my ipod will also take some very serious consideration.  Order and timing of the songs seems very important to me.  This endeavor may take longer than my marathon training.  I should start building the playlist today.

I also look forward to my blog post after finishing my marathon.  It’s going to be full of the things people yell at you from the sidelines.  I know that I stuck with some general, “way to go”, “you got this”, and “go – go – go!” cheers, but along the way I have to believe there is some crazy stuff yelled, in the spirit of being encouraging, of course.

So there you have it.  Lessons from the sidelines.  For now.  I think I need to go to the gym now.

All joking aside, it was a really amazing morning.  It’s awe inspiring to watch the endurance and persistance.  Also, runners are sexy.  It made me miss Adam Science while watching.