Making Tracks for Celiacs Race Report

Sometimes I think the races I sign up for are worth the entry fee based solely on the swag (shit we all get) I get. T-shirts, chapstick samples, a key pocket, whatever. I love it all.

Sunday was the "Making Tracks for Celiacs" 5k, that my family, friends, and I have participated in for the past 3 or 4 years. As I mentioned before, my sister and I have Celiac Disease (an intolerance to gluten and wheat). Next to Christmas, it is probably my favorite day of the year. Tons of gluten-free vendors come and give out free samples and of course, sell their products. It is the mecca of gluten-free-ness. My sister's best friend calls it "Happy Celiac Day."

My goal for the race is to get done asap so that I can get to the swag, because wow, there was a ton of free samples. You basically take a shopping bag and go through the vendors and put a sample or two of the goodies in your bag. (My bag is sooo full because my friends all get bags too and give it all to me- I feel like Halloween). I also ate the best pizza ever, some amazing donuts, and a english muffin that resembled the real thing so perfectly I couldn't stop sampling. Oh, and the cinamon buns were FABULOUS. (I, of course, also bought a bunch of these yummy products).

But, the best vendor was a total surprise--> Joe Corbis?! apparently they make the best chocolate chip cookie I've had since being gluten-free. It was so freikin fantastic I ate three cookies. (I've probably eaten less than 10 cookies in total since being gluten free- five years ago). They were so good, I couldn't stop talking about them. And, I bought a tub of dough so I could make them at home. And then, I realized, I had cookie dough that could be eaten out of the tub! Oh! My! Goodness! I can't even tell you how excited I was about this! Cookie dough?! I thought this was a relic of my past.

Anyways, the whole day was fabulous, and I can't wait for next year's run.

In addition to the run, this past weekend was Alumni Weekend for my college team. It involves an entire weekend of getting all the alumni together and drinking and partying like we did when we were in college. We all had a blast, but I haven't drank like that in a long time--- closing the bar on Friday and Saturday, and day drinking on Saturday (while playing soccer). It was great to see all the girls and I couldn't have been happier spending time with my best gal pals for two nights in a row.

Did I mention I closed the bar Saturday and then got up at 7 for the 5k on Sunday? It wasn't terribly rough- but being awake after 5 hours of sleep and two days of drinking wasn't that awesome either. So, my time wasn't fantastic (31 something), but I wasn't really planning on "racing" since I knew I'd be out the night before. I was just planning on running and chatting with my friends along the way. And...getting some great free swag...Mission Accomplished?

How was your weekend?!