1.) Running with a couple hundred folks that you don't know (ok, I knew 6 of them.)
2.) In 5 days we went from 70 degree weather down to 37, windy and rain/sleet/snow!
3.) There were t-shirts and awards involved!
The weekend was kicked off Friday night with a pasta feast, cooked by yours truly, and to my knowledge no one was hurt from the event! We had a house full of runners and birthday well wishers and associated partners. The b-day well wishers were for my wonderful partner who marked another year on 11/6 and who is putting up with all these running shenanigans. All in all the crowd was well behaved, the most notable beverage drank was a full 5 gallon jug of water!
Saturday, the day of the race, started with the normal pomp and circumstance of a Saturday, a dog walk and a trip to the grocery store. But driving to this Saturday's run would be in style, not only was this prep for the 12/6 marathon, it was also the dress rehearsal for the Majestic Flyer (MF), which is the support vehicle (RV owned/operated by the Fraleys) for the runners and non-runners at the marathon.
The MF arrived at 9am to collect Susan and I, with Mo at the helm. We arrived at Lake Mills, location of the Tyranena Brewery, in time for packet gathering, stretching, coffee making/drinking, two potty breaks, just in time carbo loading, attire deciding, and general revelry with our co-runners and supporters. At 11:30 we started, what would be for Mo and I a 2:39:36 (but who's counting) run. It was a pretty successful run, Mo didn't fall down, there were plenty of aid stations and port-a-johns. There was some precipitation, and the wind was a bit strong on some stretches, but it was good to know we can survive running in crappy weather.
I'd say the highlight was for ALL the time Mo and I have spent running, and although we were on a very wide open space, and the wind was at our back, Mo noted "Man, it smells like farts!" So, ok, maybe some of you reading this may not know me, but some certainly do, and certainly Mo has gotten acquainted with my 12 year old boy humor (as mom said: Katie you'd be perfect if you weren't so damn vulgar!) So come on, if I was right next to you and you smelled a foul odor, I'm definitely the first one to blame. Now, I'll give you in this situation, I had not started giggling (cause I was too focused on using my oxygen to survive) which is normally the dead give away. But yeah, it was me, and there's nothing like two grown women trying to run while giggling cause of a fart!
The last mile was tough, but Mo inspired me to keep running by threats of her singing. We came to the finish line to cheers of our follow coworker/runner Chris and his family. After a quick costume change in the MF we preceded to the beer tent for a beer and lasagna. Unfortunately due to the weeks events I was pooped! So the festivities were a bit short lived (so I'll definitely be working on my post-race tolerance!) The return trip in the MF got us safely home, and only took out a few curbs on those darn right hand turns...
All the gory details:
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=387&race_id=9728&type=result
25 Days, 12 Hours, and 48 Minutes until the Marathon!!
Renee, Wes, Mo, Katie, Chris, Kate and MF in the background
Mo (clapping/way too much energy), Katie (yellow), and Chris (back to us/finished the 1/2 an hour before...)
1 comment:
You Wussy. What's the big deal, running 13 miles and you can't drink beer afterwards???
Your running dream made me start thinking about my own accomplishments---when I was in Second grade I won an Easter Basket decorating contest--...I'm beginning to become gravely concerned that I peaked early in life.
Post a Comment