Like last year, it was at Crocheron park or as I like to call it "The Crotch".
For added bonus, Elizabeth decided to enter it as well. I've always said that she can and should do Marathons but she never had the time or inclination to train and so has only done 3 half-marathons.
Daughter was gonna be with the dogs and we would run. Obviously we wouldn't run together but it would be nice to see each other on the course and I figured that at the end, we may be together.
Other exciting stuff: Jamey's wife was gonna walk the thing (she's doing a step challenge). Hammad was gonna run too. He hasn't really run in a long time. His daughter, Ashley, was joining too. Of course, the Freds would be there and Michael Prayor was coming too to do some miles.
In classic Ritchie style, The course was complicated. He tried to alleviate the dark patch we had last year and so, we did a loop for a while until we got switched to a longer loop. We stayed there until it got dark and then got switched to a smaller loop which was well lit. Confusing but follow the instructions by the volunteers and you'll be fine.
In classic PJR style, we would start the race at 5pm and finish at 11pm. Oh, and in double classic PJR style, the starting temperature was 96 degrees. Yes - 96 degrees...
Elizabeth and I decided that we would take 2 cars as she wasn't sure that she would stay until 11pm. It is well beyond her bedtime. It is not even close to mine...
I left around 3:40, after walking the dogs, because I wanted to get there around 4. I was texting with Jamey and Mikey and while I took off from work, Mikey as usual didn't. He had to drive home from Manhattan to Wantagh and then drive to Bayside. While I was in the car toward the race, they weren't. He always stresses me with that. I got there and Jamey and Raina were already there. They live 5 minutes walk away. They brought ice with them.
I checked in and ran to the indoor plumbing for one last fling with the percelin throne. As I was about to put my stuff down, Raina suggested I don't put my stuff directly on the poison Ivy... Yes - Leaves with three, LEAVE THEM BE! Apparently her dad confirmed the poison ivy. Wonderful. Nice save, Victor and Raina. Thank you.
I was getting worried about Elizabeth and so tracked her only to see she's still at home. A frantic call later and apparently she didn't see a point to get there early if I checked in for her. Oy!
By the way, she got there around 4:50-4:55. I was stressing. No lie.
Michael Prayor did in fact show up. His wife drove him. Hammad and daughter arrived too. Who knew this would be his last race for a very long time. Something happened to him about 3 weeks later, while I was doing a marathon in Indiana.
We started and I immediatly connected with Crapshoot lucky/unlucky 7 Kelly. Yes - until I found out her name I called her that without the name Kelly. Later, I added the name Kelly to it. She was awesome. I eventually slowed down and ran with Jamey as usual.
On and off, we would run into Michael and Mikey and the wives and everyone else.
I'm pretty sure that Elizabeth enjoyed the fact that every so often, someone would yell outloud, "Who's that sexy lady?"... The eye rolling was in full force that day.
Michael got the miles he wanted and left. He wasn't really planning on a marathon. He did show up the next morning to run in AP tho.
Elizabeth ran well but eventually her IT Band started hurting and so she did some loops backward. Raina walked strong. Hammad did some loops with Elizabeth and some without. Mikey on and off ran with us. Kate looked strong. She was trying to chase down Matet who was on fire. Matet, hated being there and just wanted to finish and so ran and ran and ran.
Eventually Elizabeth left. There was fireworks and daughter was still not home and she was worried. She got home and Lily was scared but she got them out for last walk, ate and eventually went to sleep.
Raina walked on and on and on almost till the last minute and she looked good. But when she stopped and the adrenaline left, she was really beat up.
Ashley ran well. She looked good and I shared some classic Hammad stories with her that she never heard before.
Unlike last years pizza debacle which arrived late due to the volunteer getting lost, this year they decided to get the pizza early and so I had a slice togo. After another loop, I had 2 more slices togo. After the race, I had 2 more slices. Yummy...
Jamey was trying to stay hydrated but the usual happened and the burps started as he was trying to stave off the next step which would be vomitting. He decided on a different strategy. Usually he cannot eat anything. This time he decided that since he would probably vommit anyway, why not enjoy the awesome smelling pizza too. So he ate pizza and actually managed to keep it in.
I was enjoying myself and saying hello to people in the park. I did say hi to 2 females in their 20s and later said hi again. One of them, said something to me like "what's your problem?" and I was shocked. I didn't say anything. Apparently Ashley heard it as she was in back of us, and said to her "SHUT UP AND WATCH YOURSELF!". From that moment on, I referred to her as my bodyguard. Awesome stuff.
Ritchie was nice to me this time which was cool. I always bring an envelope with a donation to the cause but this time, I put my name on it. That was a good thing because I think he now knows who Jamey is and who Elik is... He was also actually in a great mood, even after the race and everyone commented on it.
After the daughter got home, she took the car and joined us for a few loops which was nice. This was after she got lost on the way there and called me.
Just like that, another PJR was done. Ate and got awards. Clapped a little and cheered. Female winner was Kelly followed by Matet and then Kate. NICE!
It was nice seeing Erin Patrella at the race but she seemed a little out of it and so I drove her to the LIRR. Got home, showered and slept a few hours before going to AP to run...
Random small after thoughts here...
Mikey stopped at 18.67. He was just beat up and exhausted. He told us that now he is just a spectator. After that, he sat there with the volunteers and talked about retirement.
Mitch Strong had a huge cheerleading crew and they knew us from Alley Pond and so they cheered for us too.
Donald and Andre showed up and it was good to see them and yell hi.
The awesome Bill and his daughter Christine were there and stayed together for 21.40 miles.
Albert "Big Bird" Galatan was there and since he forgot his phone on video mode, the battery was low. Therefore he was NOT blasting music. At one point, Jamey and I were running with Kelly and she asked if he was the guy from previous years blasting music. That's awesome that she remembered. I mentioned it to him and for last 30 minutes or so, he was blasting music anyway.