Travel racing is officially a thing!
I slept over at Michele's, so that we could expedite the 4 am departure. (Yes, you read that correctly. Eeeeepppp). And even at that, we arrived at the airport with less than 45-60 minutes to departure. Silly me, I thought we had PLENTY of time. And OF COURSE, this would be the first random Monday morning that Atlanta is backed up from security TO BAGGAGE CLAIM!
We were still in the line at the stated boarding start time .. and then ... oh. em. gee ... still in the line at the stated final boarding / door close time.
As soon as they let me through security, I RAN. (This is what we've been training for all along, right? Kind of! lol.) Pretty sure I put the fastest mile of the weekend on my feet in a desperate attempt to REACH THE GATE. And I did. After we boarded, they let on two more. And then 5 minutes later, re opened the door for another four+! Tisk, tisk Atlanta .. staff those security gates appropriately in October please. (and mental note: add an hour buffer to plans. better still, no first of day, or last of day flights)
We got there with plenty of time to watch the two races. Cheering was SO. MUCH. FUN. The nose and ears were a BIG hit. :) Some serious smile miles on the pig nose. And the 5K kids were the best. At the finish line, all you need to do is tell a kid he or she is looking so strong, and are almost there .. and boom, they TAKE OFF!! Seriously fun to watch. *^_^*
I dare you not to smile, tired runner. ;)
After the races, to the expo!
This might have been the only part of the weekend that was not completely fun. (Well, okay, two things .. but the other was not running related.)
THE decision. I was tempted. I asked the bib pick up folks what the process would be if I happened to want to switch races. I walked over to the customer service table they directed me to. I took note of the form I would need to complete. I found out how much it would cost. And then we went to go walking while I thought about it. And thought about it. Finally, I thought about it some more. And I just couldn't make the decision to do it by myself. I'm not sure what Michele would have decided if I would have just done it, but I just couldn't talk myself into doing it alone.
The following day, I would be furiously thanking all of the commentators that brought me to hesitate!! But at the expo, when the decision was firm, I just felt bummed and outta gas. So we quickly did a cursory round of exploring, and then were outta there.
Sunday
Distance: 13.1
Time: 2:11:something
That said.. no toddler tantrum. Reasons I think I avoided it:
- Recent PR
- The serious adventure the course itself presented. Miles 6 - 9 were literally straight up. And scenic. There is something amazing about cresting a mountain with views out to the entirety of a world below. I don't know how all that elevation compares to Publix, but the visibility of something like this just FEELS like a more major miraculous accomplishment. Plus, unlike in ATL, for the ups, you get some serious downs. Even if it didn't PR me, at least you are feeling like you put a little zoom in.
- Kyle and Michele were off their PRs too. (plus 3/4 of the rest of the tribe)
- The weather got hot and post-rain humid FAST. I can let that account for why I couldn't push to serious physical hurt.
This is a major blessing, because except for the expo, I spent 100% of my weekend smiling, laughing, and enjoying myself! Getting better about that. Yey!
When we were done, I felt what I like to describe as post long race flu. Feet ache, backache, chills, cranky. We found beer, advil, and did a poor man's yoga for about an hour at the stadium seating by the river. It was gorgeous. And just about all I needed to be back at 100%. In the blink of an eye, I was making Kyle time how fast Michele and I could get up the stairs. bahahaha. So all we need to do is run our first 1/2 at race pace, stop and have a beer/do yoga /pound Advil for 30 minutes, and then run the second half in 2:20. 2:10 + 30 + 2:20 = 5:00. Done. :) haha. Or we could .. um .. train. hee heee.
Watching the Marathoners
This was awful. And awesome. Awful because by the time we got there, every finisher looked like death warmed over. They were bleeding, and limping, and crying, and basically the most unhappy group of people we'd ever seen. The weather was probably partial to blame, but Michele and I just kept saying: oh my god, what have we done. Over and over.
Then we saw OUR marathoners. Yes, they looked miserable, too. But LOTS less miserable. And on seeing us, the uplift was immediate. Afterward, Tina and Rebecca did all of the post-race celebrating more or less like any of the rest of us. This reiterated the idea of preparation, which brought on ..
The List
In part, due to watching the marathoners come in, for the rest of the weekend I started to compile a list of (serious and not so serious) Dos and Don'ts for Chicago. On the final night, at 10 pm or so, most of the tribe sat around in the lobby recapping, and so far ..
Marathon Virgin Do(s)
Double the Guu
Salt
Advil
Excessive airport travel time
gas car the night before
wax EVERYTHING
wear sunscreen (said with a fearful footnote that the conversation might be turning into a 90s pop song)
be mindful of time changes
explore coffee options ahead of time
schedule travel with enough down time / expo time
no same day travel post-race
Marathon Virgin Don't(s)
No crying
No spontaneous bleeding
No limping
No walking in the chute
No losing skin
No blisters
No pool after marathon. Hello chafing.
No farting in your ventilation-less trash bag (figured that one out the hard way. bahahaha)
Marathon Virgin Maybes
Hold hands with your favorite run partner (lol)
Hair (and matching outfit) game
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