Whoa. There were a lot of people at this thing. I don’t know how many, I just know the pre-race staging area felt like a cattle call.
It started though with a relatively empty Will Rogers Coliseum, all signs of the expo removed save for, ya know, the actual signs:
But we got packed in there pretty well. It may have been because the outside temperatures were just above freezing and there was a bit of a wind. It would eventually make for great running weather… but those kind of temps make standing around waiting to start awfully tough.
I was PDC (pretty dang cold) as Corral # 2 was sent off (who was in Corral # 1? I don’t know… I was standing next to the 3:10 pacer in # 2 so I guess elites running sub that?).
As a result, I wasn’t really in the mood to fumble with taking my cell phone out to shoot photos along the way. I was primarily focused on just moseying along and moo-ving. But as the sun began to rise, so too did the temperatures. The wind remained as a headwind regardless of course direction (how is that possible? Why is everything so head-windy during a marathon? Is there a problem with the earth’s gravitational pull or rotation?)
I therefore found a few choice moments to pull out my phone for a selfie or course shot.
I slowed as things went along… got passed by the 3:10 pacer at mile 22 and just couldn’t keep him in my sights. In the end I wound up with a 3:12:47. No BQ but nothing to sneeze at… albeit I did sneeze quite a few times as we were directed once again through the cattle slaughterhouse holding pen for our recovery food.
On the plus side, they did have Blue Bell ice cream… which I didn’t take a photo of because, well, I inhaled it.
FTW or WTF, yeah? (I know, I know… the mirror effect isn’t QUITE right but… cutbacks on the spfx budget, don’tcha know?).
On the very big plus side, I was lucky enough to catch up unexpectedly with a few running friends this weekend. I had already planned on seeing Jean and Larry on Friday night… and I’m just about to head out to an Oscar viewing dinner thing at Brandon and Kara’s… but along the way I was invited to a Boston Marathon ALF (American Liver Foundation… not Alien Life Form) fundraiser hosted by a woman I met in Easter Island. So it was great to catch up with Allene and fellow Moai-ians Kathy and Russell last night…
And then this morning I heard someone shout across the packed with people but not vendors expo floor – it was Jim Rusher, my Tulsa lawyer running buddy.
What a delight to bump into folks on the road.
So while the times may not have hit the mark for racing, the times with people certainly left a mark… a brand of happiness if you will.
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’
Though they’re disapprovin’
Keep them dogies movin’, rawhide
Don’t try to understand ’em
Just rope ’em, throw, and brand ’em