Another One Bites the Dust

We're back and had an outstanding time! As some of you know, Doug is the head marathon coach for our Mid-America Team In Training chapter. Doug took around 27 participants to the Rock 'n Roll San Diego Marathon. It was a great group that gelled well together. Everyone had a great time and all finished with smiles on their faces!

We arrived in San Diego early Friday morning and checked into our hotel. It was the same hotel we stayed at last year. Our hotel was great. They have a spa, 4 pools, flowers-everywhere-all kinds-it was beautiful, a convention center that held the pasta party (for TNT-so we didn't have to travel), over 1000 rooms, the trolley system picks up right behind our hotel as well as having a huge mall with great stores back behind the hotel. Doug and I roomed in one of their bungalows. It was too cute. Our room opened to a courtyard abundant with flowers...

Doug and I didn't do anything too crazy while we were out in SD this time. Last year we took 4 extra days after the marathon to gallivant around SD and the surrounding area so this year we took it pretty easy. We did head into Old Town to eat at our favorite Mexican Restaurant a couple times-once for dinner and once for breakfast. We also took a trip to visit the San Diego Mission. It is beautiful!
After that, we headed to the expo with a couple of people from our team, and in the process, picked up this older lady who was trying to find her way to the expo. We kept an eye on her, assisting her while we hopped from trolley to trolley. I would say she was probably in her 60's. Doug asked her if she was with TNT and she was. She was from North Carolina and after some conversation, we found out she was doing the full marathon. We thought-very impressive. Come to find out, we were at the pasta party that very evening and they were handing out an award to this 84 year old woman who had completed all 10 RNR Marathons and all with Team In Training (completing her 11th the next day) and it was our lady! She wasn't in her 60's...she was 84! She didn't start running until she was in her 60's! Here she is (partly in a picture I was taking of the boys). I'm not sure what they are looking at...

Marathon morning started before the butt crack of dawn Sunday as all the TNT events do trying to herd a whole team to the starting line and making sure everyone has what they need. We met as a group at 4:00 am and shuffled our way onto a bus headed for Balboa Park. We waited around for the marathon to start in the dark-half asleep. It was a warmer morning then usual that turned into a little warmer then usual afternoon. Once the sun came out, it heated up fast. Most of us fried our booties. Okay...maybe not our booties-but pretty much any and all exposed skin. All went well during the marathon. Nothing too exciting happened while I was on the course. San Diego is a great destination and probably my favorite destination marathon, but the marathon route itself is something to be desired-at least I think. There is a portion of the marathon where you run up a highway that is slanted (so water doesn't pool when it rains) so it's like running with one leg shorter then the other and this goes on for several miles. Then there are several other points where the roads slope again. Not so much fun as it really jacks with the knees. However, there is a beautiful section when you head into and around the Mission Bay area-absolutely gorgeous!

I finished around 5:45 (haven't actually looked at official times yet). All in all-the whole marathon day went well and I had a great time. The most fun for me is listening to stories of the marathon virgins! Their stories, their experience, what they learned from covering the distance, hearing the excitement in their voice, to hear someone say that is the neatest thing they have ever done-now that is fun. A couple of the girls had so much fun, they went out and got 26.2 tattoos! Doug also saw our lady out on the course and said she was moving right along-probably not too far behind me!

All in all-another fun weekend! Two travel weekends in a row. This weekend we are staying home, but that doesn't mean I'm not running in a race. Saturday is the Hospital Hill Half Marathon. One hilly race. I can promise you-this is going to be a slow go...but fun nonetheless!

Here are some random pictures from over the weekend...