Saturday night was insane. Jason dropped us off at the hotel, we ran to get the boys bags and headed for the BART so they could have a sleepover at Jim’s. To get to the BART (Bay Area Transit — part subway, part train) we had to R U N about 8 blocks to the nearest station and then we hopped on the first car that looked liked it was headed to our destination. Maybe jumping on the first train wasn’t such a great idea, but luckily a person noticed me intensely reading the map on the train wall. She said that we had until the Oakland stop to decide when to get off and switch to the correct train. I didn’t waste any time and made the boys jump off at the next stop and catch the next train.
We arrived in Berkeley and called Jim to pick us up. He gets there, I throw my family’s phone numbers at him give the boys a kiss good-bye and head back to SFO. I didn’t give any instructions about Johnny, if he fell, if he had a fever, if he had a bloody nose, not even Mike’s number in a real emergency. Crazy. I later told Jim that it was probably best that I didn’t talk about the ‘what-if’s’ or we both would have chickened out.
WHEW! Now — back on the BART to get to the dinner. I had a few moments to collect my thoughts before I reached my destination. From the cheap hotel map they gave me when we checked in, everything looks SO CLOSE, I thought that I would easily make the dinner with time to spare, but 11 city blocks is still 11 city blocks no matter where you are. I finally made it to dinner and I didn’t miss any of the speakers.
One speaker was the first woman Olympiad marathon runner — I vaguely remember that when I was a kid back in the 70’s. She talked about all of the obstacles she overcame to compete in the Olympics (and I thought about mine just to make it there!). They announced the over achievers of the group — the people who raised 10, 20, even 30 thousand dollars! The weirdo’s who have done multiple marathons and then the ‘elitists’ who have done Iron Man, Marathons and Century rides (100 mile bike rides). I was impressed, truly impressed.
Our group headed back on the short 11 block walk to the hotel. When I laid in bed that night I was so lonely without the boys. I clung to the edge as if they were there and thought “I wonder if this place is haunted..”
Sunday morning came and I was ready. Oddly enough I was the first person to the lobby (which made me wonder if I was late yet again), then we all headed for the starting line. There were family members with signs and banners and cheering everyone on. Surprisingly enough, it was a pretty good crowd for 5AM (I begged my family to please sleep in!). I met someone from Houston who stayed with me 25 miles, we chatted and kept each other going and made the race a little more interesting.
About mile 18 I spotted my group! I was so excited to see them — I was worried that we wouldn’t connect because the crowds were so thick. I ran up to them and gave them all a big hug. I quickly asked the boys how their sleep over was and they said “It was so cool. We got to break into a skate park!”. I gave them a high five and congratulated them on their misdemeanor, and yelled “see you at the end!”
As I crossed the finish line I was handed a Tiffany’s necklace, t-shirt and various other goodies. I heard my name being called , looked up and saw my personal cheerleaders there waiting for me. We all hugged again and tried to find a break in the crowded to collect our thoughts. Mike called to congratulate me, then handed the phone to Sophie. I really wanted to talk but couldn’t because I was too busy tossing my cookies. I guess it’s pretty common.
This isn’t MY marathon, but it doesn’t matter — the crowds are the same
Anyway, Jason took the boys to the car, Aunt Marti took me to the First Aid tent where they drew blood and assessed my condition. I was fine, just had to lighten my load a bit I guess. I still had to do more ‘marathon related’ stuff and check in with my coaches and team, Auntie kissed me good bye and said “don’t worry about the boys”.
I got back to the hotel, showered, rested then thought the ‘Victory Party’ was WAY too much work and stayed in. Auntie and the kids met me in my room with dinner in hand and we talked about the days events. I told them about the Pasta Party the night before and about the ‘elite group’. I guess the tone in my voice or maybe it’s that Auntie knows me, but she knew I wanted to be on that list too. She said to me, “Honey, you can’t swim, Lord knows I’ve spent years trying to teach you..”. Yeah, she knows me.
My beautiful Sunday night view…
I also mentioned another event in Dublin. To that Aunite said, “I’ve never been to Dublin before!!!” Yeah, she knows me…
