So Saturday morning we headed out to the race, and I could tell that hubby was a little more nervous than before other races. (How many times did he say, "Where's my Garmin?" in the car on the way there?) We arrived just before 6:30 am and he grabbed his packet (shirt & bib) and hit the porti-potties. He came back to the car and stayed warm while he put his bib on, etc. About 6:50 we headed over to the starting line.
The race is run mostly on the city's greenway, and is (kind of) like a figure 8. Runners leave the start in one direction for 8 miles, turn around and come back to the start, and then take off in the other direction for 12 miles, turn around and come back to the start/finish. (I think I got the math right!) There are also earlier turnaround points for runners wanting to run a 50K, 60K, or 70K.
Here he is at the starting line, ready to go!
I had a long run of 11 miles on my plan for this weekend, so we decided that I would come back later in the afternoon and run from the finish to meet him about mile 44/45 and then run with him to the finish. I went home and anxiously waited for updates on how he was doing.
I noticed about 45 minutes after he actually posted on Facebook that he was 11 miles in.
Then he texted me at 22 miles.
And 29 miles. At that point I calculated and decided what time I would leave the house to go start my run.
As I was getting out of the car at the start/finish, he texted me that he was at mile 37. I texted back that I was about to get started toward him from mile 50.
I wore one of my new BondiBands that says "You can be tired when you're finished." I figured if I wasn't going to be on the sidelines with a sign, I could wear some inspiration for him!
The weather was gorgeous and I took off running, and felt great. At first going backwards on the course wasn't too bad. Occasionally I would see a runner going toward the finish with a bib on, and I would tell them how they were doing great. Then I came to a strange fork in the road. I could go straight or I could go left. Which way to go? There was chalk on the path, which at some places was worn away, making it a little difficult to decipher (also, I can get lost driving WITH my GPS on, so me being uncertain of the way to go is not unusual).
I decided to go left, and a few minutes later I saw a runner with a big coming toward me, so I felt a little better. Then all of the sudden, there were signs to go off the paved path, into the woods. I didn't realize that some of the race was on a trail. I hesitated, but decided that I would keep going and hopefully see another runner with a bib soon. I did, so I felt better about running in the woods, even though for the most part I was completely alone.
We had some stormy weather on Halloween, so the mud and leaves were pretty slippery at a few points, and at one point, there was a tree down, blocking the trail, that you had to climb over. And the arrows that were spray painted on the trail had been worn down from all the runners, so I was a little nervous that I might make a wrong turn at some point. Everytime I saw another runner with a bib (every 5-10 minutes or so) I would breathe a sigh of relief.
Finally, I was out of the woods, and back on the trail. These chalk markings were much clearer and very much appreciated!
About 5 miles in, I figured I would be running into hubby pretty soon. My phone rang at about 6 miles and it was hubby! He asked where I was, and was concerned that I might not be on the right trail (go figure, does he know me or what?!) But I told him I was passing the 44 mile aid station and he felt better. He was about 1/2 mile away from me, so before long we met.
So happy to see him!
He was doing great and excited to tell me about all the runners he had met and run with along the way. He checked in at the 44 mile aid station (you had to check in at every aid station and give them your bib number so they knew you weren't cheating). Then we took off. We were both feeling good and it was fun running together.
About mile 47 though, I could tell that hubby was starting to get really tired. A couple times he looked a little shaky on his feet, and I kept asking him if he was okay. He finally remembered he had some fruit snacks in his backpack, and I got those out and he ate them, which I think helped. I tried to encourage him and keep him going, and pretty soon, he seemed a little peppier, especially as we hit the 49 mile marker. We knew there was a bridge back over the river about 1/2 mile from the finish, so he was so excited when we finally saw it.
We took a few sunset pics before we headed up the path to the bridge.
Then, we made it up the steep climb to the bridge!
This is where he took off, racing for the finish line!
I stopped to take some quick pictures of the river, knowing I couldn't keep up with him to the finish.
I came out of the tunnel just before the finish, and there was a guy clapping for me. I laughed and told him I wasn't one of the racers and didn't deserve his applause. LOL
I met up with hubby and his unofficial finish was 10:45:30. He was happy with that, as his "A" goal was sub-11 hours.
After he ate his post-race pizza (inhaled might be more accurate), I took a pic at the finish line:
I'm so proud of him! We drove home, showered, and then I took him out for a steak dinner. We came home and crashed. It's Sunday morning now, and he said he feels better this morning than he did the morning after his marathon. Now he's on his computer, looking at 100-milers!
I ended up with just over 13 miles (instead of the 11 I had planned) but I was just happy to be with hubby!
I hope you have had a great weekend of races and/or runs!
Awesome!! Wow, he did so good!! That's so great that you got to run with him too. I'm sure that helped him a lot. If he's looking for a 100 miler, he might want to check out the Indiana Trail 100. That's the one I'm doing! You should join us! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll tell him about it. He thought he had found the one for him in Alabama, but when we looked at the date, it was a weekend we already had plans. I could cheer you guys on, but I've got to conquer my fear of the marathon before I tackle 100 miles! :)
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