First off, I want to thank everyone so much for the support, encouragement, and congratulations from not only this past weekend’s marathon, but the whole training cycle. It was an incredibly fun experience as I recapped weekly runs, had weekly meltdowns, experienced weekly bliss, and tried to stay sane before finally toeing the line. And I can’t really believe it’s over.

Race recap coming super soon — just waiting to see if brightroom decides to be on my side and have some pictures where I don’t look like death on the course. But for a sneak preview/condensed version: I BQ’d, I ran a stupid race, I’m proud, I may be done with marathons forever, and I’m in love with all things west coast and running friends.

One very special gift I received before the race was from my co-worker/love of my life Giuliana. She put together these notes for me and my other friend Meg who ran the Nike Half: they are tiny, tiny letters with mantras that she and my other co-workers wrote. It came with a magnifying glass. So amazingly thoughtful.

I also had my biggest cheerleader, my mom, tweeting up a storm. She’s better at social media than me.

@lschwech and all the runners in Eugene today – best of luck!! Thinking of you on the East coastand sending God’s Speed! 🙂

— Anne Schwecherl (@Anne1204) April 28, 2013

In other news, I can safely say even if I a) ran a shitty race or b) didn’t run at all, I still would have had a blast in Oregon. I was there back in August for Hood to Coast, but mainly running on open highways in the middle of the night or half sleeping/eating M&M’s in the back of a van. This time I could see Oregon in a static state – all the GREEN, all the hippy but actually cool restaurants and shops, and all the dang good IPAs.

The other highlight of the trip was simply hanging around our house with Molly, Corey, Allison, Holly, and Steph. We nerded out and talked about running (obv) for most of it. From picking apart race strategies (7:40 too fast, 7:50 okay…) to Gu consumption every 5 miles, to speed workouts at MGP to rolling down compression sleeves and choosing throw away clothes and finding a “rhythm” by mile 10, my love for the sport was reignited. That, and we also foam rolled/stretched together. Team work makes the dream work.

So obviously, returning home was hard. There’s a lot going on in my non-running life, and you always and inevitably feel super-down after running a marathon. To cure that “pain,” my friend Emily so kindly is giving me her Brooklyn Half bib, so I can at least have something to look forward to and a reason to play at the track next week after I rest up. And to keep myself distracted from real life realities, I’ve been diving head first into:

A) Our new office. Greatist is growing (17 people WHAT) and we have a new office to show for it. It’s about 8,000 times bigger than our old office, and it’s beautiful and fun and I’m so excited. I sat in a meeting room for some calls with a view of the Empire State Building and there was a desk and a swivel chair and… I can’t even begin. This almost makes me feel like a real person. But in all seriousness – big things are happening at HQ and I’m so excited for the next few months. We acquired a tech company and now have four awesome developers on board to help build out the tech side to our amazing editorial team. Stay tuned.

B) My cat. I have an announcement: Nora is a Norman. AKA, I’m an idiot and need to go back to sexual health class 101. So I’ve re-named him Pistachio (‘Stache for short), though I’m pretty sure I’m not keeping him. The plan all along was to only foster the kitten, and while I’ll always love animals, the 5am wake up calls, the litter being spilled everywhere nightly, and my sky rocketing stress levels when all I have to do is go out and buy more cat food means it’s in my best interest to give ‘Stache to a family who can love him more that me. (He has an excellent taste in beer, so lemme know if you want him.)

C) Having a social life. I’m excited to come out of my hibernation and spend more time with friends, the great outdoors, and tequila. I’m even pumped to go on long walks to explore new parts of the city, and simply do fun things with fun people. I hit this off with tacos and beer with an old friend downtown. There’s really nothing better than guacamole.