The unhealthiest post-race snack. Ever.

Sea level is so over-rated. I went back to TN all cocky, what with my altitude training and my super red blood cells. But I met a bully called humidity. And humidity kicked my big old altitude-trained ass.

Seriously, I struggled to maintain 13 minute miles, I sweated more than I thought humanly possible. When I ran past the local high school in the pre-dawn hours, the display read "6:00AM, 78 degrees." I wish I was kidding. I did 5 miles before the race, rather than splitting up the run with the 5K. And without a doubt, the highlight of my running experience in TN was talking my little brother into running the local 5K that I referred to before I left. The 5K was a part of a big festival (called Depot Days) that the town throws once a year, so as soon as you finish the 5K, you had to walk less than 100yards to buy your own deep-fried twinkie and assorted Tennessee Vols gear. The weather was pretty crummy, so the events later in the day (the cake walk and the street dance, I guess) were likely cancelled.

Anyway, back to my little brother. He's not a runner. In his words: "Three miles? I can't even run from here to my truck and back!" But, my powers of persuasion are second to none, so I had a running partner for the last 5K of my dismal 8miler on Saturday. Here's a couple of pictures:

Here we are at the start...He's sort of smiling in this one.

And, he's definitely smiling as we approached the finish.

Suffice it to say that he was glad to be done. We finished in approximately 41 minutes, which was good enough for my brother to take a 1st place trophy in his age group! This race didn't exactly have a great turnout.

Afterwards I played with my very cute and adorable nephew (the soon-to-be big brother) at the assorted inflatable fun-houses. This was really fun until I saw a 6-year-old child pin him to the ground and shout "SUBMIT!" I wish I were kidding. This child was intense. Here's a picture of the cutie pie:

But the real reason for going to TN at all was to attend a baby shower for my sister-in-law. She's going to have my neice in October, and my mom and my aunt threw a truly beautiful baby shower for her. My aunt carved a baby carriage out of a watermelon. There were two towers of cupcakes. We made chocolate covered strawberries. We played fun games. And there was carrot cake. So it was worth the trip.

And, also while in TN, I started the process of talking my dad into training for a marathon with me. He's 54, and he used to do a lot of running when he was younger (35-40ish), but he hasn't in quite some time. I suggested that we train for and run the Memphis St. Jude Marathon in December 2010 together. He gave the very non-commital response: "I'll give it some thought." Which, in my dad's language, means: "I'm sure she'll forget about this in a couple of days... I hope." But I will not forget. As I mentioned before, my powers of persuasion are second to none.

I got back to the mile-high city with something to prove, after that pathetic 8miler on Saturday. So, today, I did an awesome 2miler from my office. In the rain. And cold. And snow. That's right, snow. I think I just run easier when it's cold out.

That's all I've got for tonight. Tomorrow is a 4miler for me.