when pigs fly

I saw a fun craft project online to turn race bibs into coasters. It seemed like a fun and simple way to remember my marathon bib (and we actually need some more coasters) so I set to work. Coaster-sized tiles weren't readily available at the hardware store, so I bought this little set of 4 tiles from Michael's. I made a photocopy of my bib, cut the copy into 4 squares, and attached it to the tiles with Mod Podge. Lastly, I glued some craft felt to the bottom of each tile. Voila, new coasters!

I'm not sure how well they will hold up, but they were a fun, inexpensive project. I used dishwasher-safe Mod Podge and let them sit for a couple weeks to cure, but they still want to stick to the bottom of our cups. So they'll either slowly lose their finish, they'll break as they fall from our cups to the floor, or I'll throw them all away in a fit of rage after they get stuck one too many times! Since I used a photocopy instead of my real bib, I can always make a new set. It's the only marathon bib I'll ever have, as long as I follow my own advice.

-- To be read by Future Caitlin, in the event that she considers training for another marathon --

Dear Future Caitlin,
Take it from me, you do NOT want to go through marathon training again. I'm not saying you can't, or that you should regret doing it once already... just that you should not do this again. Here's why:
1. It took up so, so much time. You gave up two full evenings and your Saturday morning every week for 6 months. By the end, you were sacrificing your entire Saturday to running plus recovery! You missed out on so much time for house projects and crafting, not to mention Mae play time. You missed that puppet show where she got to give blue Elmo a high-five!
2. It's expensive. Running is cheap (you just need shoes), but running a marathon gets kind of pricey with running groups fees, clothes, nutrition, and race fees!
3. It hurt your feet. Just admit you have old lady feet and probably did irreparable damage to them by training for a marathon once. Don't make it even worse.
4. It causes a lot of anxiety. What if you miss a long run? What if there are no bathrooms on your route?? What if you are sick or injured for race day after all the preparation??? You don't want to go through all that stress again.
5. Someone said, "If you cross the finish line and start thinking about all the things you could have done differently, then you will definitely sign up to run another one." But everything went so well... how can you possibly top that?!

If you want to train again, maybe try improving your 5K time. Even a half marathon seems pretty reasonable at this point. Just NO MORE MARATHONS!

See you soon. Love,
Caitlin

P.S. It was pretty awesome crossing that "Finish Swine" though.