Go AA!

But not the AA you think. Well, maybe the first A, but not the second. This is the term that my friend Anne coined for me.

The first A actually is for alcoholic. No, I am not an alcoholic, but there is a story.

When I first joined my training group, our coaches gathered all of the first time marathoners together to give us some training tips...what to eat, what to wear, etc. Then they asked for questions. I said "I heard that you aren't allowed to drink alcohol when you are training for marathons, is that true?" Everyone thought that was funny.

And for all the non-first-time-marathoners (who missed my question), Coach Joe pointed me out and told them my question at the next practice. Everyone then knew who I was. My friends at work thought this was hilarious. Probably especially since we all go out to happy hour together after work sometimes.

They also thought it was hilarious when I was bemoaning the fact that I had to sign up in the Athena Division. It is a weight class. And despite the fact that I have been running a gajillion miles I am STILL in the high weight class.

So Anne said they were going to get me a shirt that said "AA" on it, for "Alcoholic Athena". And instead of standing on the sidelines with water for me, they would hand me a beer when I was running by.

I was thinking about this when I was running and it made me laugh. So once again, I probably looked silly while I was running, to any passers-by...but this time not because I was shadow boxing.

Oh yes...and if you want to know what Coach Joe said? He said you have to reward yourself for putting your body through that. So yes, drinking is fine. But probably not before a run.