rock 'n' roll

The day started at 5am, we were both up easily and quickly getting ready.  On top of our normal running gear we pulled on some hospital scrubs*, skull caps, and $0.72 gloves to combat the frigid morning temperatures.  The hotel we were at was full of other runners and the lobby was already bustling with camera crews, runners, fans, and volunteers.  We grabbed some tubs of frozen OJ and headed to what we hoped was the closest shuttle to the start line.  My nerves kicked in while we waited for the shuttle, and RO'D tried to chat with me, but I was mostly non-responsive.

We boarded the shuttle and headed for the StartLine Village.  It was crazy.  The heb was there with bagels and water and bananas, UPS was there for gear check, and about a bazillion other booths and tables (by the by, this is perhaps the best thing ever and should get filed under 'gifts for Jenni'!).

Technically we were in different corrals, because RO'D is super speedy and I...am not. But he was super generous and started back with the slowpokes so that we could start together.  The gun went off somewhere in the distance, and we didn't move.  We stood around in the cold waiting for a full 38 minutes.  By the time our corral started I had to pee something fierce.  Our first mile was good, about 11 minutes, and we were pumped by the very first band at mile one.  Shortly after I made a pit stop to the port-a-pottie, and we were back on the road.  RO'D pulled ahead at about mile 3 and I was left to my own.  I was amazed at how quickly the miles went by.  There was a small clusterf@*$ at the water station at mile 5, it was the one and only time I was met with anything less than the greatest of sportsmanship.  A whole bunch of guys pushed me out of the way to get to the last three cups of cytomax, leaving me seemingly empty handed.  One of the cytomax volunteers saw it, and got me the first cup of fresh COLD cytomax - take that karma-punks drinking hot cytomax!!

During the race I ran into a few of the women I trained with - it was nice to see them on the course and run a bit.  I think we did the 5th mile together.  Then I plugged in the iPod and started to jam out.  If we could look at a breakdown of the individual miles, I think mile 7 might have been the fastest.  Mel made a few CDs for me and it was about then that 4 minutes was followed by Low, followed by Kiss Kiss - well how can you not run that whole time.  I loved having these CDs, made especially for me, while I was running.  It made me feel like there was someone there cheering me on, it really helped!  

Mile 10 was hard, and I walked more than ran.  Mile 11 was better.  And, I wasn't nearly as mad about the people at mile 12 who were yelling "You're almost there!"  The entire course was flat, except for a hill they placed nicely after the mile 13 marker - bastards.

At 2:49:28 (chip time), I crossed the finish line.

The finish line was well stocked with snacks, drinks, stretching areas, and free beer.  To put into perspective how I was feeling it took me 25 minutes to eat one banana, and another 25 minutes to finish one chewy granola bar.  You can imagine how long we sat on the ground starring at some band while we enjoyed our free beers.  After which we got up and walked (uh-huh, WALKED) back to our hotel.  It was a slow walk, a disorganized, non graceful walk.

I plan to do the half marathon in Austin, but more importantly, I plan to volunteer for other marathons and halfs.  I was blown away completely by the number of volunteers who were there just to pass me a cup of water, or make sure I had a warm aluminum foil blanket and a towel to keep me warm and dry when I was done.  They were everywhere, doing everything, and really - more than anything else - I don't think we could have done it without them.

*borrowed