How I accidentally ran a half marathon, and discovered that the best part of a race is victory cookies at the end.

This past weekend, I accidentally ran a half marathon.

Just kidding! It wasn’t an accident. But it was a half-marathon. Let me rewind and give a little backstory…

One of the other students here, Angela, was planning on running an official half-marathon this past weekend. Her class schedule changed, so she couldn’t make the official run. No problem, she just decided to make her own unofficial race by running the same distance. I was planning on joining her for the first few miles, but somehow over the past week that plan transformed into me joining her for the entire run.

Yeah, I’m still not sure myself how that happened.

Cue this past Saturday night, when I realized that most of my preparation for the run had been to buy cookie dough in anticipation of a post-run dessert. Oh, and to Google “how to run a half marathon” as if that would really help me.

Google’s suggestions all seemed to include some kind of 15-week master plan, which I didn’t have time for at 10pm the night before the run. The only day-before tips I found were “Don’t be nervous!” and “Don’t change your routine!” which both seem to ignore better ideas, like “Do sleep!”

Sunday was the big day. And the final result? Well…let’s just say I survived. Let’s not say how much the last mile was a struggle.

On the bright side, I did put that cookie dough to use by preparing some excellent stove-top brownies. Who says you need an oven to bake things?! (The answer is everyone. Everyone says you need an oven to bake things and they’re right. These brownies were delicious, but definitely not cooked in any way close to what they were supposed to be.)

In addition to my faux-rownies, Angela baked celebratory Welsh cakes. And in lieu of a medal, she baked a special “#1” cake for me. She’s the best.

Brownies in process. Note the lack of whisk, measuring cups, or mixing bowl. Instead of those luxuries, I used a fork, basic pot, and “meh” approach to measurements. Like an Adult.

They actually turned out pretty tasty, and may have inspired my new food blog — how to cook in Germany when all the local ingredients and recipes are in German, and you don’t have a lot of space for kitchen equipment, and also your kitchen is just two electric burners and a mini fridge. Featured recipe: burnt (though delicious!) brownies.

But really, they turned out totally ok.

A few other pics from around town. I’ve noticed that Germans like to communicate with stickers. Various stickers go up around town, and are ripped down or sticker-ed over by other people who don’t support the original message. It turns into a visible narrative of sticker drama, as layers are built in competition for the best real estate.

No to racism, yes to the crayfish.

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