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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bayshore Marathon Part 1

I will need to report this in parts as I am quite busy with the shortened week here due to Memorial Day. Memorial Day itself reminds me of the great sacrifice of so many for the country. What I did last Saturday is nothing compared to what is done by the brave men and women in the Armed Forces who put their lives in harm's way for their country.

The Marathon, pt. 1
Friday, I did not run at all. The kids had field day in Bay City (about 70 miles from home.) After we picked them up there, we headed to Traverse City on the other side of the state. It took about 2 hours to get there. After a little confusion with the map, we found the registration. It was well organized and not too crowded. I received a nice running shirt and running socks, my bib, and my timing chip.

Then we went out to eat. I had a chicken salad. That was my last solid food until after the race. I learned early on that if I run longer distances with solid food in my stomach, my stomach rebels. IN addition, I drank a lot of water and some Gatorade all day to make sure I would be well-hydrated for the race. After dinner, we drove to my in-law's house outside of Gaylord.

It's an hour drive from Traverse City to Gaylord. The race started at 7 AM. I wanted to get their earlier enough so that I would not be stressed trying to get there on time. That meant that we needed to leave at 5 AM. I planned to get up at 4 AM. Yikes!

When we arrived at my in-laws, I laid all my clothes out, attached my timing chip to my shoes, and headed to bed at about 9:30 PM. The next morning, I didn't roll out of bed until 4:30 AM. Oops. Before I put my clothes on, I lubed up with Body Glide. I put it on any part that might get chaffed. I even put it between my toes , as well as other cracks and crevices. We rolled out at 5:15 AM. My wife drove while my in-laws watched the kids. We arrived in plenty of time which was good, because I still had some solid waste to evacuate from my body. There were lines for the porta-potties, but I didn't need to wait too long.

About 5 minutes before the start, they played the National Anthem. How sad that so few know the words. I headed towards the back because I didn't want to feel demoralized by having tons of people passing me. The website now says that there were 1384 finishers. The race was capped at 1700 entrants. Anyhow, there was a crowd. Soon a cheer went up from the crowd as the race started. I couldn't believe that I was beginning my first marathon. I was choked up. I started to get emotional, but quickly pulled things together. I had a long way to go, and I couldn't waste energy on that sort of thing. I regained my composure and excitedly continued down the 26.2 mile path.

Soon, I would discover that it was nothing like I expected...

To be continued.

7 comments:

antgirl said...

Thanks for sharing! You must be so stoked about it. It is truly something to be proud of.

I not only know our national anthem, I know Canada's too. LOL

Sayre said...

That's quite an undertaking you made. No wonder you were emotional. Never in a million years did you dream you would be doing this when you started your weightloss journey, I'm betting!

Thanks for sharing... Very inspirational!

Half Man said...

I never imagined I would do this. Prior to last October, I never thought it was something that I could even work up to.

VinceWM said...

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paulmac said...

Congratulations on your 1st Marathon.
i remember my 1st. I have just completed My 10th.

Chris D said...

diet and fitness go together! good luck with future marathons!

Unknown said...

my fat ass story and what i'm doin about it-series, right here: soggybricks.tumblr.com tag "ImFAT"