DC & NJ part 1 - DC marathon 10: suntrust national marathon
PRE RACE
up @4:45 amish bed was warm, outside was cold. i managed temptation.
i headed out w/ mom & dad a bit before 6.
RACE
waited in line with my dad for the bathroom while the waves were leaving (deja vu). afterwards while heading to the correct wave of people i passed a friend from highschool. it was nice to see you sam.
my dad, being unsure about his ability to run more than a mile (he has been on vacation w/o training) he bandited (ie ran w/o a race bib)
dad has the backpack in both photos :)
he kept me company for the first 6 miles and then headed to the subway. thank you dad. it was nice.
as he was about to head off i saw cathie & troy - maniacs i had met @ callaway gardens GA & again (more officially) @ little rock AR.
i ran with them for a bit. turns out their first (or 2nd?) marathon was for their 25th wedding anniversary (now their coming up on their 39th???). a friend had been urging them to do a marathon - so they did. and they caught the bug.
after a mile or so i went back tomy walk/run thing. they were a runnin fast.
ran into dave mari (thanks for the photo)
i put on my mp3 player w/ new headphones (thanks dad). it took a few minutes to adjust em. then i braided my hair so i could tuck it into my visor (keeps my visor on my head better since it's a bit big for me).
sang sometimes.
kewl mural
ran across a fair few more maniacs here & there.
saw a woman from shamrock cheering on the sidelines with a sign. thank you :)
more fun signs
saw runners i had met @ MD, AR, GA
bubbles again - yay
before the half/full split i ran with a woman for a few minutes. i was talking about my project and she said her son has cancer. he's still living his life to the fullest it sounds like. hearing the strength of people like this makes me smile.
cherry blossoms blooming :)
somewhere around mile 15 i passed my knee brace onto a TNT (team in training) girl with a cute smiling face (even before the brace). this was her first marathon. i hope she finished strong.
we ran through a tunnel
friends & family showing support to runners
played leap frog with a few people for a while. then i caught up with cathie & troy. we ran together for a few minutes and then i was off.
showing support :)
a few minutes later i came across another maniac couple i had seen near the start of the race. they had been faster so i had skipped the "hello" @ that point.
now i said hello and mentioned cathie & troy - another maniac couple further back. they said that was going to be them eventually.
this was alison & shawn. i stayed @ their pace to chat with them for a bit - stopped my 5/1 and walked when they did. they were kind enough to let me join them til the end.
she had a glove on one hand.
turns out - @ mile 17 he pulled her into a (statue?) park. she was like "why are we stopping?"
they had family there. . .
he got down on his knee, brought out a ring, and asked her to marry him.
the ring was a bit big, so the glove stayed over the ring b/c there was no way she was going to lose it.
back story:
they met @ work in NJ, "a tiny bit scandalous" they said because he was an intern nd she an (HR?) person.
they kept running into each other. a few emails were exchanged, leading to a few coffees being drank, turning into a few lunch meet ups, eventual a few dates.
and then, today (about 9 months later?) they are engaged.
finish strong (thanks steve t for this picture)
a cute, kind couple.
thank you two for allowing me to be part of it. the priveledge of being the first to call you "fiance", good company for the end of the run,and sharing your story .
i wish you two much love, compassion, honesty, understanding & acceptance in the many years to come.
POST RACE
quick stop @ a semi-neearby gym and then we (mom & me) were headed to NJ.
see the route map here
for elevation - look @ the chart (vs the ascent & descent)
hope all be wonderful :)
up @4:45 amish bed was warm, outside was cold. i managed temptation.
i headed out w/ mom & dad a bit before 6.
RACE
waited in line with my dad for the bathroom while the waves were leaving (deja vu). afterwards while heading to the correct wave of people i passed a friend from highschool. it was nice to see you sam.
my dad, being unsure about his ability to run more than a mile (he has been on vacation w/o training) he bandited (ie ran w/o a race bib)
dad has the backpack in both photos :)
he kept me company for the first 6 miles and then headed to the subway. thank you dad. it was nice.
as he was about to head off i saw cathie & troy - maniacs i had met @ callaway gardens GA & again (more officially) @ little rock AR.
i ran with them for a bit. turns out their first (or 2nd?) marathon was for their 25th wedding anniversary (now their coming up on their 39th???). a friend had been urging them to do a marathon - so they did. and they caught the bug.
after a mile or so i went back tomy walk/run thing. they were a runnin fast.
ran into dave mari (thanks for the photo)
i put on my mp3 player w/ new headphones (thanks dad). it took a few minutes to adjust em. then i braided my hair so i could tuck it into my visor (keeps my visor on my head better since it's a bit big for me).
sang sometimes.
kewl mural
ran across a fair few more maniacs here & there.
saw a woman from shamrock cheering on the sidelines with a sign. thank you :)
more fun signs
saw runners i had met @ MD, AR, GA
bubbles again - yay
before the half/full split i ran with a woman for a few minutes. i was talking about my project and she said her son has cancer. he's still living his life to the fullest it sounds like. hearing the strength of people like this makes me smile.
cherry blossoms blooming :)
somewhere around mile 15 i passed my knee brace onto a TNT (team in training) girl with a cute smiling face (even before the brace). this was her first marathon. i hope she finished strong.
we ran through a tunnel
friends & family showing support to runners
played leap frog with a few people for a while. then i caught up with cathie & troy. we ran together for a few minutes and then i was off.
showing support :)
a few minutes later i came across another maniac couple i had seen near the start of the race. they had been faster so i had skipped the "hello" @ that point.
now i said hello and mentioned cathie & troy - another maniac couple further back. they said that was going to be them eventually.
this was alison & shawn. i stayed @ their pace to chat with them for a bit - stopped my 5/1 and walked when they did. they were kind enough to let me join them til the end.
she had a glove on one hand.
turns out - @ mile 17 he pulled her into a (statue?) park. she was like "why are we stopping?"
they had family there. . .
he got down on his knee, brought out a ring, and asked her to marry him.
the ring was a bit big, so the glove stayed over the ring b/c there was no way she was going to lose it.
back story:
they met @ work in NJ, "a tiny bit scandalous" they said because he was an intern nd she an (HR?) person.
they kept running into each other. a few emails were exchanged, leading to a few coffees being drank, turning into a few lunch meet ups, eventual a few dates.
and then, today (about 9 months later?) they are engaged.
finish strong (thanks steve t for this picture)
a cute, kind couple.
thank you two for allowing me to be part of it. the priveledge of being the first to call you "fiance", good company for the end of the run,and sharing your story .
i wish you two much love, compassion, honesty, understanding & acceptance in the many years to come.
POST RACE
quick stop @ a semi-neearby gym and then we (mom & me) were headed to NJ.
see the route map here
for elevation - look @ the chart (vs the ascent & descent)
hope all be wonderful :)