Thursday, July 26, 2012

Some Michiganders and a Californian-My Rock 'n' Roll Weekend

My Rock 'n' Roll half marathon race weekend last month was EPIC.  Not only did I have a great race, but I got to meet some of my very favorite online friends in real life (IRL!) It was akin to meeting the cast from your favourite T.V. show.  The one that you've watched forever so you feel like you know the people, yet you would still be completely starstruck to be sitting amongst them.  

The switch from online friend to IRL friend can be tricky.  After all, everyone has their online persona.

Confession time:


The first person I met was Adrian from Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls.

She writes one of the first blogs I ever followed and is among my very first bloggy friends. When she first emailed me to ask for hotel recommendations for the race, I offered Casa de la TriGirl.


Once we both agreed that it totally wasn't weird to invite a sort of stranger to stay in your house, or to accept said invitation from a sort of stranger, the plan was set.

Adrian flew in the day before the race, and I recognized her immediately.

She kinda gets that a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

We drove straight to the race expo and chatted the whole way. It wasn't weird, for the record, and it took my mind off driving on crazy overpasses and into the middle of downtown on a weekday in the pouring rain, which apparently means that suddenly no one knows how to drive (because you know, it's not like it doesn't rain here EVERY DAY!).

After checking out some free stuff at the expo,


we met more bloggers for lunch at a nearby restaurant.  As we rounded the corner, another familiar face that I had only ever seen online was grinning at me.

It was Megan! And her boyfriend Ryan was right beside her! 


It was like a celebrity sighting; like Brangelina, but Rygan...Myan? Anyhoo, like that, minus the multicultural children, and the weird tattoos, and the creepy beard that Brad sports on occasion. Plus, Megan totally gets along with her dad and has even turned him into a runner!

Along with them were a few more familiar faces:  Megan and Kevin, and their baby, Charlotte.


Those blue eyes were soooo big!

Erika and Julia were there, 

(I just love the pigtails) 

along with some of Erika's friends.

Then more local bloggers joined us: Lindsay, Nicole, Tasha, Lauren, and Stacie!


After some more expo-loring (get it? expo and exploring?) it was time to go home.  Adrian had brought me a bag of gifts that was fantastically awesome.


The next morning we raced, and that evening, we went out for sushi.


We had a great time getting to know each other better, and after dinner we went to a pub. We sat around in a little side room with flamingo beer bongs and mustachioed guitars hanging on the wall. Suddenly, Erika noticed that Ryan had attracted some unusual attention.


Megan shooed the (presumably drunk or otherwise altered) woman away and asked Ryan what that was all about. He replied matter-of-factly,

Touche', Ryan.  Touche'.

The next day, TriGuy, Adrian, and I went out for breakfast, then we went downtown for some sightseeing. We met up with Erika and the Megans, with the menfolk and childfolk in tow. We did the regular, fun touristy stuff, but one of the highlights of my day was watching Megan walk backwards while she was talking, and knock over a magician's table with his magic trick movies on it.


It proved to me that she is exactly who she claims to be on her blog...and that we are most definitely kindred spirits.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, and the only sad part was having to say goodbye to so many good friends that I had just started getting to know.  Perhaps it's time to start looking for more races...

UPCOMING POSTS: MORE RACE REPORTS, YOGA (for real), LONG RUNS


20 comments:

  1. so much fun connecting your blogging world to the 'real' world!

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  2. OMG this was the perfect thing to wake up to!!!! I love it so so much. Ryan and I were cracking up. Love this post so very much. I miss all you lovely people. If only a meet up wasn't so pricey - it would be happening all the time!!

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  3. Wow, so you can actually meet bloggers in real life and they're like normal people? There is hope. Maybe one day I'll get to meet some of the great bloggers I follow...or maybe I'll maintain the mystique.

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  4. Aw meeting bloggers sounds awesome! One of the down sides to being anonymous for me..

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  5. Love. Love. Love!!!!!!!! What a perfect way to start my Friday!!! :)

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  6. I absolutely love this post!!!! :-)

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  7. I love, love, LOVE this...Interwebz friends are the best :) Esp when you get to meet in real life!

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  8. You're not a stick figure? Damn.

    I love the art with the Hilary Duff reference - I spit out my water laughing.

    Peter and I are so lucky that Meghan & Peter combine so well into... Meter.

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  9. Oh my. There aren't enough words in the world to describe how much I adored this post. I called Kevin at work as soon as I saw it so that he could check out the cuteness. Love, love, love it! So wonderful to meet you! Now I can check "have myself represented as a stick figure" off of my bucket list :)

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  10. Robyn: Yes! So fun!

    MegO: I've been waiting for weeks to have the time to draw Ryan and the drunk lady :D We need lots of money so we can travel to see each other--let's get rich off this blogging thing, k?

    Pickleope: I would totally meet you in real life, as long as I could recognize you by your antlers.

    Gia: That is the price of anonymity, I guess. But, if you and Boyfriend ever decide to go public, you could then meet everyone!

    Erika: I'm glad :D Have a fun-fun weekend and tell Julia happy birthday from me!

    Tasha: Thanks! It was such a fun weekend!

    Sheila: Thank you! I know, it's so cool to meet in real life!

    Meghan: We can keep that part a secret :) "Meter". That is awesome :D

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  11. Love it!! We need to do another Green Lake/ fro-yo run, & bring Ann Marie!

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  12. Megan: Woo! I'm stoked I helped you cross something off your bucket list! I really enjoyed meeting you too-it was so fun!

    Lindsay: Yes!! Let's find a day in late Aug/Sept and do it!

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  13. I love this post! From your side mouth confession to the bag of awesome. But my favorite was the faces you gave yourself and Adrian after trying the coconut milk and cherry juice.
    I'm glad you had such a great weekend. Sounds like it was so much fun.

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  14. This sounds awesome! I am on the edge of anonymous and "forget it here I am!"

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  15. Vapid Vixen: I'm not a fan of either drink--I guess I'll just stick to water and wine :) The weekend was incredibly fun!

    Crack You Whip: It really was awesome :)

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  16. Wait a sec...you aren't really a stick figure!? I am shocked and need to process this.

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  17. hahahaa I love all your depictions of people ;) and Megan does seem like that on her blog....I love that Ryan was hit on by a drunk woman. I also LOVE that in your drawing the bag of goodies that Adrian brought you actually says "So Awesome" :) lol

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  18. runningonwords: Still processing?

    Ali Mc: It was so fun to see Ryan being hit on by that woman. As for the bag, it actually was full of 'awesome' :)

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  19. It is an immense feeling to meet someone in person when you've only known through emails, pictures, chats. Though you know them and their lives inside out, you still feel shy to talk to them at first. I too got the opportunity to see two of my online friends almost a year ago and the memories are still very fresh in my mind. By the way, I really liked the idea of your post where you've used pictures to express your feelings...hilarious :)

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  20. Katie: That's exactly how it felt! It was pretty amazing :)

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