| Start Area | Bushnell Park | Marathon Course |
Back to back weekend or B2B for short. I have big plans for next year and so needed something like this. Also, by doing Hartford, it gives me the only new state for this year. Very sad that I only get 1 new state but that's ok I guess.
I have heard nice things about it and it works as a B2B. If I remember correctly, I have heard crazy Gerrie tell me that he has always done this one in a downpour. In fact, I have seen a picture of him finishing it in a downpour. Weather looked great up until the last minute. They said rain Friday night into early am Saturday. I figured the drive there will suck but that's it. Boy, was I wrong. Still, I fear that I jumped ahead a little so we must take a step back.
Monday, before the race, Jeff texts me that he and Heidi are interesting in doing the half. Only problem is that there is no raceday pickup and it's a little far to drive there just to pickup. I offered to find someone to pickup. Why was it not an issue for me? I, smartly, paid an extra $ 15.00 to have them mail it to me. OK - that wasn't all. True, I wasn't sure if I would have someone to pick it up for me or not. I mean Jamil, Donald's son, is there and he might be able to pick up for me but I couldn't be sure. Also, there is guaranteed, preferred parking. One less thing to worry about. In any case, I started putting out feelers for them. I thought I read on Facebook that Tom Lynch was doing it so I sent him a message. He finally answered that he might know someone. It started getting urgent as the last time to online register was Wednesday at 11am. Long story short, found someone Wednesday morning at around 9. Jeff and Heidi signed up for the half and Adele signed up for the 5K. Her first 5K in a long time. Awesome.
It's always fun to go with people to races. Certainly it made my life easier because I dreaded driving 2 hours in the am and pm both Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to check out rental cars and hours and to potentially drive but Jeff offered to drive which made my life easier.
We decided on leaving at 4:30 Saturday morning. I wasn't looking forward to the 2am wake ups both mornings but it is what it is. You take the good and the bad about early and far B2Bs.
So, 2:00 am and I am awake and eating breakfast. Remeber I said it was supposed to rain Friday night into Saturday morning? Nothing at 2am. Dry and no rain. Can it be we escaped the rain? At 3am, the rain starts. Wonderful. At 4:30, Adele is at my doorstep. I thought Jeff was driving and then I realized no one else was in the car. Turns out that Heidi didn't want to wake up earlier and Adele volunteered to pick me up to their house. Oi...If I knew, I would have cabbed there or got the rental car. Still, pretty cool of her to do it. We drive to Jeff/Heidi and all is well. We load up in their car and onwards.
The drive is uneventful. We talk and joke around and Jeff does his best Jet Fighter Pilot imitation as he flies there. Cool. We are making amazing time. A little worried about finding Karen with their stuff but I figured with cellphones we will find her. I did hear from her that she picked up everyones stuff and I bought her a mug from Starbucks so we need to trade.
I was very worried about Hammad tho. He was supposed to text me that he is awake at 5am. He was doing the 50 Miler at Tesla and was supposed to wake up at 5am and leave the house at 6am. I did not hear from him. I kept texting him but nothing. I called him at 5:30 but still nothing. At 5:45 he called. He just woke up. It's raining badly. He's gonna start Tesla late.
As I said, we flew there and all was amazing until about 5-10 minutes short of ETA. Traffic. Serious traffic. We get to the traffic circle and traffic is horrible. We see a parking lot on the left. It's not the preferred paid for parking that we have saved but it's right there. Trouble is we would need to go around the circle. Jeff instead goes against traffic and right in. I was conflicted. I was very happy he did that. I need the port-a-pottie badly but on the other hand I would not have the guts to do that and I was hoping he wouldn't get in trouble with the cops. He didn't. He parked and that was great. He and I went to the port-a-pottie. Back to the car and Karen calls. We go looking for her and eventually find her and get the bags. Back to the car to deliver it. I need to pee and wasn't going to stand in line again. Went to pee between 2 cars. When I get back to the car, I found out we were 1 bag short. Heidi's half-marathon bag wasn't there. I tried to call and text Karen over and over but no response.
I feel terrible. It's not my fault but I feel responsible. Jeff, Heidi and Adele decide on a late start. Heidi and Adele need the port-a-potties but don't want to wait in line. It's chip time so what does it matter anyway. I get ready and goto the start. Doesn't make sense for me to late start as they have to wait for me. I goto the start and I'm still calling Karen and looking for her. Maybe just maybe she still has the other bag and I can help Heidi out. I don't find her and the race starts. I didn't look at the map and I don't know which way we go or what the course is like. I'm still upset about the whole screwup. Can't think about it right now.
I start. It's raining. The theme of the whole race is rain it seems.
Lot of people. About a mile in, we pass next to a fire house. The fire fighters are out there, cheering on the runners. The runners, when they see the fire fighters, let out a collective scream letting the fire fighters know they are appreciated. I couldn't believe it. Had goosebumps.
A little after that, I get passed by Chuck "Marathon Junkie" Engels. I'm surprised he is all the way in the back. Weird. I have a theory tho and it turns out I was right. He started dead last and his job was to run and run fast. Every runner he would pass would cause a dollar to get donated. He eventually finished 40th overall raising a ton of money. I actually saw him on his way back and he yelled out "Maniac" with a hat tip. Nice guy. I met him at 2 Rivers way back when. He won the first day and either won or came in second on the second day. Amazing runner.
I catch up to the 4:40 group and super Elaine is the official pacer. She's awesome. Met her at a few races. She was doing the 100 mile grand prix until she didn't make the cutoff on the 3rd 100 miler. Bummer. Still, she went and kicked butt on the 4th and here she is now. I yell her name out and she waves and then tells the whole group that I am running Steamtown the next day. How cool is it to get a shout out during a race and by a superstar no less...?
I see a guy running and he's wearing a singlet that says "BEEF". It's his sponser I guess. Of course I scream out "Where's the beef?" and we talk for a few seconds. Later we end up leapfrogging each other constantly.
At around mile 3, I make friends with another MM. Her name is Agnieszka. Only started doing Marathons this year. Cool. We run together and talk. All is good. Unfortunatly, I'm not sure about my stomach. I just don't know if I am delaying the inevitable. We run and I see a port-a-pottie and I see someone leave it and I have no choice. I'm at about mile 8 or 9, running well and I have no choice but to stop. Not only do I lose my pace and time, I also lose a friend/pacer. Oh well. Glad I stopped tho. It was a productive stop. Oh well.
I start up again and I wonder if I can catch up to Agi. It would be awesome. At around mile 10.5ish, I see a table full of (OH MY GOD!!!) Coke. Of course I stop... Awesome. Spirits are back up. Around this point, I hear sirens and it's a cop car on the course. Can it be?!? Yup...Leaders coming back and these guys are running neck to neck. Unbelievable.
I run and I see Beef guy. Cool. Made some time. Figured if he's around, then Agi must be around. Still don't see her but I feel like I am running well. Get to the 13.1 mile mark at 2:06. Damn...Maybe sub 4 would have been possible? Who knows...
Eventually I see Agi and we re-join. She's happy and so am I. I am especially happy that I have light gloves on. She is dressed considerably less than me and as the day progresses gets colder and colder.
We talk and talk and the miles click on. We are on a straight path and I really wish I knew the course. I ask around and someone tells me that we go straight until the turnaround at mile 17ish. Cool.
Miles click on. We talk. People out there under tents, drinking. We turn around and about a mile later, we see Elaine heading our way. Oh oh...
There's a tent on the right side. People sitting there drinking beer and smoking cigars. I ask for a coke and I get one. Guy had to run toward the house but I'm happy. Agi starts struggling. She's very cold. Her fingers are frozen. We continue. She tells me I can leave but it ain't my style.
We pass the 20 mile split.
Just a side note, there were 2 barefoot runners out there as well as a guy in greek style flipflops. Also, there is either 1 or 2 physically disabled big kids getting pushed in special strollers. Cool.
We make a friend. I don't remember her name but we drag her with us. We get to the coke table and they have coke and chocolate. Awesome! I grab 2 cups and a piece of chocolate with rice. Can't remember the name. Our new friend decided not to stop. Ok. We eventually catch up to her. Agi thinks she had enough of us. I don't think so. I think she got her 2nd wind and decided not to stop. Unfortunatly for her, she couldn't keep our (not really fast) pace and we dropped her. If she would have said something to us, we would have taken her. Oh well for her.
We are at mile 23 and I actually feel real good. I could actually bang out a fast 3 miler but I wasn't leaving my friend. We continued.
The miles go past. Got a bridge to cross (literaly) and we are in the city proper. I still feel really good. We are close. I start speaking to a new friend, Allen. He's happy as can be. This is his 5th Hartford and he knows he's got a PR in the bag. Less than a 1/2 mile to go and he starts to slow down to a walk. I don't let him. I tell him he needs to keep up with me. There's no crying in baseball (he's young and doesn't know this movie quote) and no walking 1/2 mile away from the finish. We finally cross this thing and he says the finish line is a block away. I tell them both that now I leave them and I sprint passing people right and left. I finish and await my new friends. They have tons of water hoses into temporary water fountains. Smart...
Take a picture with Agi and meet up with the crew. We go through the free stuff and food. I go in and grab 2 fruit cups and a grilled cheese and OH MY GOD!!! Apple pie. I gobble that up fast. People are staring and I don't care. I should have taken 2. It wasn't hot anymore but I don't care. Apprently they also had soup (tomato I think) but I don't see any. Oh well.
Heidi: She ran anyway. Cool. I told her we can email them and give her Jeff's time and it can be proven by pictures. Only thing that bothers her is that she didn't get her shirt. She's getting Adele's shirt but assumed she will have 2. Now she only has 1. Oh well. I'm just glad she ran and enjoyed.
We go to the car and while the girls go to Dunkin Donuts for a bathroom, I change near the car. Not going to sit there all wet and cold and miserable for 2 hours.
Flew back. Jeff/Heidi had to get back showered and cleaned up quickly so they can make a dinner and show in Manhattan so Adele drove me home from their house. I got home and showered and we went to eat at Wendy's. Bet you thought I was going to say pizza... During Marathons I actually crave Wendy's spicy chicken Sandwich, spicy chicken nuggets and baked potato. If you think about it, it's protein and carbs which is perfect. I didn't want heavy pizza so this was great.
Before Wendy's tho a nice hot shower and an examination of my feet. I knew with all the rain, that I had blisters. I felt them. When I changed clothes at the end, I saw the 2 big whoppers I had. Stuck a needle in them and drained them. After that, went to pickup the car for tomorrow and then to eat. We got to the car rental place and the guy can't find my name. What?!? That's ok, I have my confirmation number. I got everything dude...Except the right date. Stupid website changed my pickup date and I got no car. The words "You gotta get me a car" did come up and the guy delivered. Got me a car but had to pay something like $ 10-15 extra. Sucks but what am I gonna do?