Running on injury

So, that high hamstring pull is still bothering me. I am not running on it (much) because really, I just want to walk. I may do a light jog, but even that doesn't feel so good, so it is mostly a brisk walk for me now.
Which is why I had a good and not so good experience at the May 12 Tucker Road Race 5K.
I met up bright and early with my Tucker Running Club friends. Here we all are just before the start (I'm WAY in the back).

Tucker runners

My running buddies Susan and Carolyn are members (they are the ones who got me interested in joining the Tucker group).

Early start! 

Me, Susan and Carolyn

So, I lined myself up in the back of the pack, expecting to walk and my Tucker runner friend Katie,  who is 7 1/2 months pregnant was in the back too. I had such a nice time walking,  jogging and talking with her, getting to know her better. We jog walked until about the last mile, and we walked the rest of the way in. We came in around 52 minutes. Not too shabby.
Well, unfortunately, the Tucker Road Race folks had a problem with the race timing and anyone who came in after 47 minutes was declared a non entrant! What?!?!? So, Katie and I, and anyone else who was slower than 47 minutes, didn't get any race results.
I supposed should be grateful that slow time wasn't recorded for posterity on the internet! ha!
I have no races for another month, so a little more time to let my muscle heal. No running on injury for me!

When the bridge is out, find another race!

So, in Atlanta, traffic can  be a bear.
It can especially be traumatic when a fire under an overpass along Interstate 85 causes a bridge to collapse.
That happened on March 30. The unintended consequences of that traffic nightmare was the Komen Race for the Cure in Atlanta, scheduled for May 13, was postponed until June.
So I quickly signed up for the Tucker Road Race on May 13. I never get to run this race, because the Komen race is always the same weekend. This year, I'll get to do both!
But I have to laugh. The road to the Tucker Road Race was not a pleasant one.
I tripped on rough sidewalk on my way to the start and landed on my car keys. I was bruised!
Despite that, I ran the race.

Running along the Tucker Road Race

Again, not my best time. I feel like I'm more and more injured. But it was nice to run a race that was so close to the house that I haven't been able to run in a while.
The race benefits Tucker High School's orchestra and band. What's not to love? The band even played us out to the start!
I might have been "Tuckered" out after the race, but it was worth it.

A kid in a candy store

As I've mentioned before, I do get to do some fun things through my job, and recently I was invited to Loews Atlanta Hotel to see its new event space it calls The Overlook.

The hotel created three different themes within the event space to show how the space could be used. At one end was a black-light room, complete with an ice bar.

The ice bar at Loews Atlanta Hotel

The ice bar served up a variety of ceviche, including tuna, scallop, and shrimp. It was all good, although the tuna was my favorite.

A little later in the evening, the black-light room even offered some performance art.

Performing in black light

Glowing art

The middle part of the event space was pretty much a straight up bar area with some food tables displayed. But this was a fun display area, and I could not stop eating the smoked salmon lollipops! They were so good.

Salmon "tubes"

Smoked salmon lollipops

But the really fun area of the event space was a candy shop.

Welcome to the candy bar!

I brought home way too much candy from the candy bar. Good thing I had some 5K runs and training runs to work it off! The candy bar was filled with jelly beans, candied fruit slices and other retro candies.

Entering the candy shop

Sitting in a bath filled with gum balls

I'm not exactly sure how comfortable the model in the bathtub was all night, but she sure was a trooper. So many people were taking her photo (including me) or posing by the bathtub with her. I did ask her if this was one of her more unusual jobs and she said it was.

On an unrelated note, I ran the Tucker Road Race 5K last Saturday and found 32 cents along the route, including a well-worn quarter. For me, finding the cash made me feel like a kid in a candy store.