Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Battle of the Bean

I am harboring a secret. It's a secret that has brought me no small amount of shame in my family. In fact, I am sure my parents are mightily embarrassed by this secret. They probably don't want me to broadcast it to the interweb. But, you know what? I'm gonna do it. I'm no longer going to hide my face in disgrace. I will admit it to all of you and prepare for the ridicule.

Here it is ...

I don't drink coffee.

There. I said it. It's out there. I feel such relief!

Now, I know some of you might not consider this a humiliating secret, but the truth is, in my family, I am in the minority. Like the only one. I'm not talking about my Lafferty family. Luckily, I was smart enough to marry another non-coffee drinker. But, amongst my family of birth, yup, I'm a lone wolf.

I'm pretty sure, if they could, my parents would drink coffee before even getting out of bed in the morning. Or, even better, hook up an IV coffee drip. In fact, in the huge remodel of their kitchen, they made sure to  add a specific spot for the coffee bar. My little brother has been drinking coffee since before he could read. Albeit back then it was a little coffee with lots of milk, but he's since graduated to straight black.

Coffee was staple in my house growing up. Even after getting through high school coffee-free, I am sure my parents thought I would finally give in while pulling all-nighters in college. But, nope. I really could not tell you how I escaped unscathed and unaddicted. (Not saying I don't love caffeine, I just prefer it in the form of a Sonic Route 44 Coke Zero with Cherry. Mmmmm. Delicious.) But, to this day, I am not a coffee drinker.

So, when I heard about this new run called Battle of the Bean, I knew it would be one I would have to run in. The whole premise is that it is Cocoa Bean vs. Coffee Bean. I mean, I love a good hot chocolate (Who doesn't? It's chocolate and warm. Yum.), so I was all aboard. And, how perfect would it be to run in it against with with my dad and brother, two of the most prolific coffee drinkers I know? We'd see who the true winner would be. I'd no longer have to cower in shame at my non-coffee-drinking status.

Sounds like a great plan, huh? Well, it was. Then, my dad injured himself. And, then my brother decided to have knee surgery to fix that pesky injury that had been hindering him for a year. Is this starting to sound remiciscent of our trip to Maine last May? Yeah, I know. I thought so, too.

But, despite not being able to compete against the coffee drinkers in my family, I thought I would still do it to represent for Team Cocoa. Power to the non-coffee drinkers!

It was at the end of January, and despite having one of the most mild winters ever, this particular morning was only a toasty 15 degrees. Yeesh. It was cold. So, I bundled up. Think, two pairs of pants, three shirts, an ear warmer, knee-high socks, a hat and a neck warmer. Yup, I was covered. Unfortunately, I'd already told Molly about the kids' race (the Jelly Bean Run - get it? Jelly bean? Awesome.), so despite the cold, she really wanted to come. She just loves a good kids' race. So, we bundled her and Charlotte up, too.

Posing with my little mini-me runner before the race started.
The adult race started at 9am, then after it finished, the kids' race was going to start. Luckily, a store was serving as sponsor, and people could sit inside to keep warm if they weren't racing.That made me feel better about having Cory come out and bring the girls to this frigid January run.

So, I started my race and ran my little legs out, even if I couldn't feel my toes. I pushed and pushed and managed to come away with a PR, which I was super excited about. What I wasn't excited about? The fact that Cory, the girls and my brother (who'd come out to cheer me on, despite the knee surgery not allowing him to run) were not there when I crossed the finish line. This is sounding even more like our ill-fated Maine run, isn't it? Yup, no one was there to see my triumphant finish. (Can you hear the bitterness in that sentence? It's really attractive, I'm sure.)

At least William had a hot chocolate waiting for me when they finally made their way out of the store to see me after I finished. And, yes, that is Molly photo-bombing.

Ran into an old friend, Danie, who was also running in the frigid temps. Get it? Ran into? I crack me up.

Charlotte actually allowed William to hold her. We're thinking it's because he bribed her with hot chocolate. She might just be my child after all.

Despite not having a cheering section at the finish line, I did get a 3rd place age-group medal. And, yes, Molly is photo bombing again.

Anne has become a running machine, lately. Apparently, fueled by hot chocolate. Go Team Cocoa!

Molly running in the Jelly Bean Run. Everyone was a winner in that race because everyone went home with a medal and a bag of jelly beans. Again, my kind of race!

The motley crew right before we finally packed it in and headed toward the heat of our car. All I can say is: God bless heated seats!
So, considering I was the only one of my family to participate in the race, and the only coffee drinker there couldn't even make it to the finish line, I think it's fairly safe to say ... Team Cocoa won. At least for my family. No more shameful secret non-coffee drinking. Who needs bitter old coffee when you can have sweet, creamy chocolate to warm your fingers and soul. From now on, I will sip my delicious hot chocolate proudly. Preferably with whipped cream or marshmallows.

5 comments:

  1. I don't drink coffee either! And, I don't like hot chocolate. I know, I am a HUGE black sheep! Chocolate in the solid form is super yummy, but in the liquid form it just doesn't do it for me.

    I keep thinking I will become a coffee drinker...still waiting!

    Oh, and I think you will like my favorite thing that I am bringing to Renew. Think Happy Hour!

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    1. Hmmm ... if I'm catching your drift, I think we were thinking on the same lines for our favorite things! :)

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  2. It really does seem to be like the Maine trip. In that trip we all said we were going to run a Marathon. The coffee drinkers did not run, but the non-coffee drinkers ran a marathon and 15Ks. Like you, I also do not drink coffee. It seems pretty definite coffee drinkers cannot compete with the non-coffee drinkers. We now have data to prove our case.

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  3. GO TEAM COCOA!!!!! I think they knew they couldn't win and came up with ways to not have you show them up!!!! This better be the last time they bail on you.....you need to get Papa John to come to all your races to have someone with whom you can run....... I also am a non-coffee drinker and am so glad you and Papa John proved the coffee drinkers just cannot compete!!!

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