Girls stayed with Nana and Papa, so it felt a little weird to not be hurrying to just miss him at the finish line. A new vantage point for me.
I got to Lakewood in time to see the first runner make the westside turn. 1. Those front runners are wiry little bastards. 2. Half of the non-front runners already looked miserable. Granted, some of those people were only half-marathoners, so they were halfway done, and perhaps halfway to an aid station. I will never understand enjoying something that brings you so much pain. (Except how much I love boybands even though I know they always break up.)
My co-worker Gregg ran by with the 3:10 pace group, smile on his face and waving at me before I even realized it was him. Same guy who told me that after he finished the year before, all his muscles seized up and he was paralyzed for a few minutes. Yeah, sign me up.
Scott ran by with the 3:20 pace group, so after that I was off to Burger King for a Diet Coke and a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. Yummy.
Downtown, was not quite so mellow. By the time I got down there, parked and walked the couple blocks, those half-ers were finishing so the crowd was pretty thick. I read a book for a little while and watched the winner of the full marathon come in around 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Other things I could do in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
1. Watch a movie.
2. Read Jen Lancaster's new book...if I had it in my possession...which I do not...life is cruel.
3. ...
I can't even think of anything else I would like to do for 2 hours and 20 minutes except nap.
Along the way, I saw this guy
This is a dad I can get behind. Willing to paint his daughters toenails, while watching a marathon.
But I also saw this guy.
He still had his 10K bib pinned to his shorts, and I caught him doing hacky-sac for a while before the runners started coming in (what is it 1995?). He is obviously too cool for school and is hopefully not breeding.
Scott came in at the blistering 3:20 pace! And I'm not being sarcastic. That's actually really good. Especially for a first time. Now, if could get him to sit still and relax for that long. That would be INSANE.
Gregg came in about 15 minutes later, but then made the fatal flaw of introducing me to his parents as "my boss" which made me feel really old and therefore he is on my shit-list, so I'm not posting his picture.
I now have about 5 hours before my parents start calling and wondering when I'm going to pick up my children. So I can either run a couple marathons....
Posts
The last time I can remember running was never. I take that back. Army training included some running, so I have run nowhere since 1966. 44 years is a pretty darn good record. Unless you count having to regurgitate, when I walk briskly.
ReplyDeleteYou asked about books on my blog, and I assume you meant childrens or very young readers. I read a lot of Young Adult, ages 10 and up (there is no consensus amongst publishers), and there is some incredibly good stuff out there. I do not, however, know anything about beginning readers. I'm sure you've done this already, but it seems that a librarian would be your best source. I'm sorry I couldn't help.
Charlie: I think I was trying more to relate to your "good ol days" point. Because I feel like all the children/young adult lit is so mass marketed. Not that they aren't well-written. 1. My dog's name is Potter, so I'm obviously obsessed. 2. Pullman's His Dark Materials is brilliant. 3. I'll just stop because this will get too long.
ReplyDeleteBut I haven't seen anyone like a Roald Dahl or a Judy Blume that comes up with something original each time. Even though Baum always wrote about Oz, you never felt like they were a "series."
Or maybe I'm just not looking very hard, because I'd rather read Charlotte's Web again.
Katie: Please don't kill me for not using quotes and/or underlining around my book titles. I could never remember which to do.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe I didn't even notice? But we italicize book titles, a rule that I think you should memorize in case you're ever on a TV trivia show and that's the big-money question. On a slightly related note, the library just emailed me to let me know that my copy of Catching Fire is waiting for me! Hooray! And the librarian took my advice and has ordered more copies of it and Hunger Games as well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Scott from Cousin Katie, BTW. I admire his dedication and stamina, even though I'm in agreement with you on the whole running thing. Maybe that's why my marriage to a track coach didn't last very long. Yeah, that's the reason.
(Tina) Wow, I'm not sure we can come visit you anymore; Scott is now about half my size, ha ha! That's way too embarassing for me.
ReplyDeleteYou ladies probably know this already, but Mockingjay is set for release on 8/23/10, or three months and five days from now.
ReplyDeleteWhile I thought Hunger Games was too violent for YA (I guess I'm not in synch with the times), I thought Collins was brilliant to use a strong female lead.
And while the series is apocalyptic, I think it's so much better than the craze for vampires and zombies, most of which is trash (IMO).
Oh, I am on countdown for Mockingjay. (Okay, don't know how to italicize in comment mode.) I am a vampire lover, but more on screen than in pages. I liked the Twilight series for the plot, but not necessarily the writing. Meyers is WAY too long winded. I don't have that kind of attention span anymore. But watching True Blood...that's something I can get behind. However, being a Jane Austen fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Entertaining.
ReplyDelete