Just Looking

My favorite place to shop for clothes is Ann Taylor Loft.  Sometimes I just like to walk into the store and take it all in, imagine what might look good on me, glance at the prices and walk back out.  Sometimes I need a minute to look around and decide which section of the store I want to visit first (which is usually the section for the shorter people).  I'm usually asked right away if I need any help and I usually respond and say, "No thanks, I'm just looking."

Barnes & Noble is another favorite spot, and I enjoy walking in with no ideas and reading all the inside covers of the books with interesting titles or cover art.  I'm rarely asked if I need help in Barnes & Noble but that is okay because I enjoy the activity of just looking (possibly accompanied by a warm beverage).

Sometimes I like to shop online...for races.  If I'm looking for a marathon, I usually go straight to www.marathonguide.com and shop for the date and place I want to run.  If I'm looking for something else, such as an ultra, I usually put in my search criteria on google and shop that way.

So, just for grins I did a little shopping the other day.  Just to see.  Just to allow the possibilities to roam around in my head for a little while.  The what ifs.  The oh-wouldn't-that-be-funs.  The I-might-like-to-do-that-one-days.

And yes, I did tell those closest to me that they could haul off and slug me if I so much as uttered the words "50 mile" and "trail run" together in a sentence.

But I'm only saying 50 mile.  I'm not saying trail run.  And I just wanted to see.  Here is what I found.

1. Destin 50 Beach Ultra - February 19, 2011 in Destin, FL.  The entire course is along the beach.  And it is a mixture of hard-packed sand and loose sand (I already asked the race director).

2.  The Long Haul 50 Mile Ultra - January 22, 2011 in Wesley Chapel, FL.  It is a road race.  Too soon to be feasible, but good to know it is out there.  

3. Iron Horse Endurance Run 50 Mile - February 19, 2011 in Florahome, FL.  Okay, these are trails (don't hit me), but they are unimproved rail trail, described as "flat with grassy and gravel surfaces. No hills."  I could do that.

For informational purposes, I now know these races exist should I be interested and available, and should my husband be game for more of this nonsense.  I just wanted to see.  And I think the Destin 50 could be really cool.  I'm just sayin'.  But it is probably too soon, and I think we want to head down to Florida sometime next year for something else. But no harm done, right?  I'm just looking.