Yes Folks, those are finishers medals!!! The funny thing is all week I'd been dreading the weather-it kept looking worse and worse, with rain and wind and then I turn on the weather channel race day morning and staring at me is the current temperature...70 degrees!!!
You have got to be kidding me I thought to myself...OK, well I probably proclaimed it out loud as I also looked at the projected winds...20-30mph-UGH! So immediately I adjusted my race strategy, recalculated my pace, finish time, added some more electrolyte powder to my gatorade, etc etc...and things were going along just fine until I got to mile 14...cue the foreboding music...when I started to cramp like I have NEVER in all my life cramped. Needless to say I spent much of the rest of the race trying to find a "pace" that didn't lead me into a fully body spasm and as disappointed as I was in the moment, I was in no way the only one feeling that way...all around me people were shuffling and moaning...laying on the side of the road...we are talking carnage...lots and lots of carnage!
Several years back Runner's World nominated the Richmond Marathon "America's Friendliest Marathon"...and if you've run this race, you know that it's true. 4 years ago when I did this marathon (my first ever!), I was amazed at how many people were out along the course cheering, playing music etc etc...and this time around, there were at least three times as many people out there...they truly were amazing yesterday! So, despite the fact that my finish time was no where near where I wanted or trained for it to be, I still loved the race...the course is beautiful and challenging and the volunteers, spectators and police officers patrolling all the intersections are fabulous. Here's some more pics...as my friends send me theirs I'll continue to post more...but these are some taken by the hubby
NayNay and I in the porta potty line!!
At the start...no, I didn't have a bad 80's side ponytail, that belongs to the girl behind me!!
Me with the 3 best spectators on the course (in my humble, totally unbiased opinion!) Hubby, Mom and Dad
1. The Omni...let me just tell you the last time NayNay and I went to an event we stayed at the Bate's motel...seriously, I can't remember what the name was but I can tell you the fumes from fresh paint were so overwhelming...and we couldn't figure out if they had just painted to cover up the blood from the murder that had just occurred in the room or if they were using the paint as a way to hold up the plaster on the wall...either one was a possibility...not to mention that we didn't dare walk around in bare feet or even put our luggage on the floor it was so nasty...so the Omni was an awesome change...friendly staff, floors that were safe for bare feet and cushy robes for lounging...
2. The peanuts in the race goody bag...by the time we drove to Richmond, checked into the hotel, missed the first shuttle to the expo because it was full, waited for the second shuttle, picked our gear up from the expo and hopped on the shuttle bus back to the hotel...we were HUNGRY!! Those peanuts were a spot on snack!
3. Doubled Stuffed Oreos and pretzels...a perfect snack for the successful athlete...
4. Race Sherpas aka Hubby, Mom and Dad...not only did they all get up early and drive over 1.5 hours to the race site...they were out there all day long cheering and offering support...it's so nice when you aren't having a great race but you can look forward to the places you know you can find your race sherpas...and in my case, you can stop, chat for a while and watch your quads cramp right before your very eyes!! I know we thank our sherpas, but spectating can be way more exercise than the race itself...circum-navigating the race course...trying to find snazzy things to say to the athletes...cowbell ringing....clappy hand clapping...I have seriously gotten worse blisters from cowbell ringing than the ones I ended up with yesterday! So thanks guys, you really were the best three out there!! :)
5. Joe and Corey...the two greatest shuttle van drivers...it was such a good thing you had the step stool last night guys!
6. Randomly running into friends just when you are closing out your tab...Bill AKA Jim, Sue and Beth...glad we got to stay for a few more rounds...probably not nearly as thrilled as the cute couple trying to have a romantic dinner in the booth across from us...but they'll get over it!
7. The Richbrau Brewery...perfect for your post race recovery meal...burgers, homemade root beer and the sherpas...awesome!
The next two have sub-lists to them and also require some pictures...so I'll dedicate a post and pics to them later, for now we will just list them...
8. The Jefferson Hotel
9. The Capital Ale House
10. Completing the death march despite the heat, humidity, wind and cramps!!
Hope everyone was able to share their weekends with family and great friends! Oh, and just for the record...it was sunny low 40's, projected 52 degrees for the high, and zero wind in Richmond today when we left...perfect running weather...what a difference a day can make! :)
3 comments:
Congratulations on the race! I hear it was a humid one.
It sounds like a great course, and I'm glad Richmond was friendly for your marathon experience.
Congrats on hanging in there. Cramps can make any event miserable. And as my cycling coach would say - Now you've got a story my friend.
Good job in tough conditions! Racing is all about how you handle adversity- you did awesome!
Post a Comment