There are those who focus on the end results, and others who focus on the journey. Neither is right nor wrong, but I think there's more fun on the trip if you take time to smell flowers, pet dogs, and take it all in. My friend Susie Sunshine doesn’t worry about how long it takes to run a race; it’s always about the journey. We made sure this wasn’t just a Personal Best time (PB) for the race, but a Personal Best Time (PBT) at the race! There was a guy on the sidelines who said: “Wow, you are having too much fun!”
I would have to say: No, WHY would I make this into a torture session? Not like I’m at the Olympic Trials, am I?
My finishing time was not particularly impressive, but as usual, I was waaaaaaay faster than everyone who sat on the couch. The stat that was being bandied about was that only 0.1% of the World’s Population will ever do a full marathon. So by getting out of bed, I am in the TOP 0.1% in the world.
There were 2 quotes on shirts that I really liked:
“If found on ground, please drag across finish line.”
And
“DLF > DNF. Dead Last Finish is better than Did Not Finish”
I was considerably faster than the DLF!
On the shore of Lake Washington, about Mile 8
Here’s a bunch of highlights from the course. I think it’s kinda obvious how it might have taken a little longer to do this course than if I’d just run it, one foot after the other, plodding through the 26.2 mile torture test. Now that sounds appealing, don’t it?
Bands on Course:
The whole schtick of the Rock n Roll race series is the promise of lots of music: at least one band per mile on the course, plus a headliner concert. In this race, I found most of the bands pretty good. There were cover bands that got us singing, others that cheered for runners as we went by, a reggae band at about Mile 21 that was fabulous (Jah bless!), and I was especially fond of the Mexican Elvis Guitar Player! There were only a couple who were so awful you just needed to run away. But I did think the organisers choice of a death metal band at Mile 25 to be ironic to the point of cruelty. “AAARRRGGGHHHH! This is the soundtrack to my final demise!! AAAGGGHHHHHH...Wish I could run faster to get away from this.....”
The Running Prayer
There was a man wearing a collar (a priest or minister or chaplain? I don’t know these things) on the side of the course, so I asked him to say a prayer for us. Here’s his on-the-fly, off-the-cleric-collar Runner’s Prayer:
“May the Lord bless you.
May you run,
and not grow weary.”
Then he did the Father, Son, Holy Ghost sign. Although I am not religious, I was
impressed that he would toss out a terrific prayer for us, and he really had a
great smile. So I ran over, and gave him a jumping high five: “Whooooo! Yay
God!”
Sports Models:
There was a photographer riding on the back of a motorcycle, who kept leap-frogging us in the early part of the race. I kept running just behind him, and giving instructions: “Go a little slower. I’m drafting behind you.” I did this a few times, and finally suggested he take some pictures of us. (What were we, chopped liver, Mr. Paparazzi??) So he stopped us a little further ahead, and got us up on stage with a Mexican Elvis Impersonator with a guitar. And then the photo shoot started.
“Yes, OK, really ham it up! Big smiles ladies!! Yes, great, OK now do air guitar. Now look up at him.”
The guitar man was awesome. He kept right on playing as we jumped around, etc. etc. He didn’t even miss a beat when I kissed him, and just said a low “Whoa, little darlin’” and kept on strummin’. The photographer loved that though! “Oh yah, kiss him again! Oh yah, that’s good. Now look up at him!!”
Who knows? Maybe we’ll wind up on the RNR website?? Sadly, I did not think to give him my camera, so no, I don’t have a shot of this..... Check the RNR website!
Does this clown make my butt look big?
High Fivin:
At about Mile 18, I got to the turnaround of one of the out-and-back fingers. I spotted a mom with little kids, so ran across the road to give the kids high-fives. The little boy, age 2, was too shy, but the girls, about age 4, were cool with it. Since I was at a turn-around, there were a bunch of spectators plus a cheerleading squad from a local school. So I carried on, giving maybe 25 high-fives in a row. The cheering squad went crazy!!! Good thing, as the road started back up the hill at that point. :(
Marathon Maniacs
There is a group who wear yellow tanks and call themselves the Marathon Maniacs. To get in, you only have to run 3 marathons in 3 months. (yikes!!) Most of the ones I met were old guys, like in their 70s or 80s, who had done many, many marathons and were all awesome. Tom was in his late 70s, and had done 95 full marathons. He said he was working on his 100th, and gave me the #1 Rule of Road Running: “If it’s soft, don’t step on it.” That’s wisdom gained through time.
Team in Training:
There were purple-clad runners all over the course. It’s the Team-in-Training, a group raising funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Research. For certain events, they have group training sessions, coaching and on-course support. They were all happy and feeling the love. They had so many coaches and so much encouragement, it obviously made the race that much easier and more fun for them. They get free, guaranteed race entry, accommodation, bus transportation, a snazzy purple tank top.... all the frills, really. And you get all this for the cost of some substantial fund raising. I will definitely look into T-I-T in a future race.
The woman who was most amazing finished after I did. I saw her cross the finish line, with a message written on the back of her legs: “I have leukemia. It doesn’t have me.” She crossed the line, covered her face, and sank to the ground to sob. She said she was ok, just overwhelmed. She really did have leukemia, and she really did run a whole marathon. Her story had all of us around her in tears. Wow. It still gives me chills.
Medical Tent: Immediately after crossing the finish line, I went to the Medical tent. Plenty of people have serious issues on these big races, so they take all their patients very seriously, in general. I staggered in, asking for ice. Seriously, I had had noticeable pain in my knees since about mile 7.5, and since about mile 16, I woulda paid money for ice packs for them. The guy who received me said, “Ice? Jeez, that is a good idea. We totally shoulda thought of that.” Frikking smarty-pants! My comedian/nurse did get me some lovely ice packs and sat with me to tell me stories. He was so nice I asked for medical marijuana, but no dice. He was all out. I think the sub-4 hour runners took it all.
Hammin' it up at the finish line with T-I-T Elvis, who also wasn't DLF
Regardless of how the actual day went, and that I wasn't close to the time I'd hoped for, I am really, really proud that I trained for this race. The next one will be faster, but it will still be great.
“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
-- John Bingham
beni's arms = Nature Bites!
Bo's arms = Nature Bites Again
my leg, showing a deep blister and the results of falling over with my pack
double entry: Jill's sprained ankle, and Sammy's broken(?) arm
my feet, at end of Day 3. Ugggghhh, trench foot.
honorable mention: not a body part, really, but this shows a failed brain and/or broken, tired body, as Sammy has fallen and can't get up!
honorable mention: Taryn's stomach, for excessive body fat. And who uses their belly as a billboard/birthday card anyhow? WilderNutBar
