Busy Weekend ~ Part One

To add to the craziness that is Barton Fall, we just HAD to run in Akron this year.  So we jump in the car Friday night to drive to Akron to pick up our race packets.  Because I am cheap, we drive back home (as opposed to getting a hotel room which just sounded like a waste of money when Mike suggested it back in June).  Therefore we were up and out the door at 4:00 am Saturday morning to meet my "Runners are Funner" marathon relay team at the Cracker Barrel on 91 at 90.  We drive to Akron and, because we were so early, we parked REALLY close!  We spent a very fast hour and a half waiting at the start.  I have to say that Akron was SO MUCH BETTER organized than Cleveland.  Port-o-Johns lined the start ~ I don't think there was ever a crazy line...and they were RIGHT THERE so there wasn't any chance of missing the start because you were in a bathroom line.  Mike was very excited/nervous to run his first half...on a hilly course...with Dodd hoping that he couldn't beat his 1hour 51 minutes...and Mike hoping to finish...and me hoping he did well...and a little bit hoping he wouldn't beat my 1:55:04 time.

We watch Jill (Bissler's friend) and Mike at the start and head over to the first relay exchange to see Kimi start her leg and Mike run by at about the same time.  That was the last I saw of Mike, but I got a few more text messages as he passed over the timing mats.  The first one said he was on pace for a 1:48:17 finish.  The second said he was on pace for a 1:49:49 finish.  During this time, I got on a shuttle bus to head to relay point #5 ~ and we rode that bus on a highway for a really long time.  Even though I'd driven the course back in July, I was still a little nervous about how far we were going from the finish!  As I was waiting, I was standing next to a guy in a Mount Union t-shirt.  We started talking just to pass the time.  As we were talking I was watching the race clock get closer and closer to 1:45:00.  I mentioned that my wrestler husband should be finishing soon.  Then I got the text.  1:47:29.  AMAZING.  If he was going to beat my time I'm glad he did it by such a HUGE margin.  Then I got this picture text from Terri (she and Bill, our amazing pit crew) ~



Mike's amazing finish ~ 1:47:29

And I hadn't started running yet!  Sometime after this I to the call from Brynn that Cheryl had started her leg, and was headed my way.  I started my warming up and 27 minutes later I started the last 7.9 of the Akron 2011 Marathon.  It was a great run.  I felt great.  The weather was great.  The scenery was great.  The blue line running the whole marathon was really cool.  There was a really steep hill at about mile 3 (of my leg) and all I could think of was Emily (8th grader on my CC team) yelling, "ATTACK THAT HILL, MADISON."  Took me right on up and past lots of people!  What a feeling of strength to power past someone on a hill.  Then at mile 23 we started the decent into downtown.  We ran two miles downhill.  I just loosed up and let it go.  (and I still can't believe the number of people WALKING downhill)  Entering that stadium and seeing that finish line was a thrill ~ and I had a cheering section pretty much straight ahead of me :)  We are now medal winners and marathoners.  I ran my 7.9 in 1:06:20 (that's a pace of 8:23) and our team finished in 3:50:05, good for 18 place out of 164 women teams.  Pretty rock starish if I do say so myself.

My "amazing" sprint to the finish ~ 3:50:05 marathoner(s)!