Race report Rehash

Well, I ran a marathon on Sunday. Today is Friday. This morning I came outside, walked down the 17 stairs to the street, got the paper, and came back up them without remembering what I did on Sunday. I’m feeling pretty good. If this keeps up, I might even start running again (get nuts!).

I’m still walking around with my medal in my jacket pocket. I keep the ribbon tightly folded over the medal like a tri-corner folded flag and usually have it between thumb and forefinger while walking from one place to another. Make any mention of the race and I’m sure to pull it out to show you.

Super Jeff
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

Jeff documenting the action

Today I feel pretty much like normal. Yesterday I felt a sort of a disappointment I couldn’t really pin down. I think I trained really hard, for many moons, ran and incredibly long and hard race, and then had a lot of people make a big deal about it. It was exciting and gratifying, but then we all went back to business as usual and I think I was unconsciously feeling like, “Hey, remember the big deal??”

As for the actual race report I never go around to finishing; nothing all that eventful occurred before about mile 18. I was running strong, feeling great, and getting about 30 seconds lower per mile than I had expected. Brooks ran up and introduced himself. We ran together briefly but then I lost him again.

Keith
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

Action shot

At mile 17 I caught up with the pit crew. I wasn’t feeling as chipper as I had at mile 7. I still had 9.2 miles to go to get finished. They would be a looonnnnggg nine miles. At mile 18, I saw Super Jeff who asked me if I needed anything. Thanks Jeff!

Right about the same time, Drew materialized on my left and introduced himself. He was wearing a gray sleeveless shirt. We only spoke briefly as he was looking for his family who were at supposed to be coming up any step now. Its funny how your mental images of people build up based on the words they write. I imagined him as being skinnier and shorter but he actually looked sort muscle bound. Was there an East coast accent there too? Hard to tell when you only exchange a few words and are in a mental state where complex tasks like simple addition and subtraction are becoming more difficult.

Wheelchair Competitors
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

As we were passing one of the wheelchair guys on a hill, lots of people were cheering for him and yelling out things like, "Way to go William!" and "Hang in there William!" I didn't hear anyone saying squat when he flew by us on the downhill.

I ran on by myself, down into the long straight downhill. I hit all the hydration stations but, nevertheless, became increasingly thirsty and tired. Picking ‘em up and putting ‘em down was turning into a chore. I turned my iPod on for the first time, hoping to distract myself with NPR podcasts. I had purposefully stocked many hours of my favorite podcasts for just such an eventuality and then back filled the rest of the drive with music files incased all my podcasts somehow turned out to be stinkers. Unfortunately, the stupid thing would only play the same five gangsta rap tracks, which weren’t helping me any. No matter whether I chose shuffle mode or advance to next track, all I got was obscenities and misogyny. At about mile 22 I turned the stupid thing off. I’m still mad at it and it is currently still grounded (jammed in the bottom of my gym bag). Without the iPod, which I used successfully throughout my training, I was stuck alone with my own thoughts.

Despite taking Goo every 45 minutes and Gatorade every other water stop, I must have been starting to dip down into low blood by this time. At about mile 23 I missed the hydration all together when my hand dropped three cups handed to me before I could clamp down on them. I ran on in disgust. Apparently there were Taiko drums somewhere in this stretch – Taiko drums are huge and were used by the feudal era Japanese like a telegraph and to direct the movement of military units on the battlefield. I love Taiko drums but I didn’t even hear them that day.

Reeelly Early in Vegas
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.

It looks a lot cooler in real life - the desert at dawn.

As we came through the Frank Sinatra underpass and made our final turn to start towards the Mandalay Bay and the finish line, I made my fatal mistake. I looked up, saw the casino, and thought to myself, “Oh good, I only have to run to there.” Have you ever driven across the desert, looking at the mountains in the distance that never seem to get any closer, no matter how far you drive? That’s what was happening as I slowly trudged towards the big green casino. I couldn’t do it. I stopped and walked. Suddenly Drew was at my side again, encouraging me to start running again. I did and ran ahead of him, but eventually stopped and walked again until he caught up with me. This happened several times, I lost count. The last time I looked up and saw him about 15 feet ahead of me. I started running again and saw the course veering to the right and towards the oh so delicious finish line. I ran by Drew, slapping him on the back and trying to say something encouraging that probably came out sounding like “HAMMINAAAARRRGGh” I never saw him again, heard anyone cheering for me, or was aware of anything besides the process of picking up one foot and then the other. Drew’s time was within seconds of mine so I know he must have been with me the rest of the way but I had the mental capacity of a grapefruit by then. Keith had to come get me and lead me out of the enclosure and over to the support crew. Steve peeled an orange for me. After I sat and ate it I felt immediately better. Within 30 minutes I had my brain back but the body was shot.

I was so happy and grateful just to be able to stand or sit still. I was hugging everybody. At the time I remember thinking, “I hope Partyrunner and her sis don’t think I’m a freak!” but all seemed to go well.

Afterwards pizza-beer-sleep-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the end.

Keith and my Ear
Originally uploaded by gene_poole.