We left Saturday about noon (the marathon was on Sunday) and
that morning, Major Patch and I got up early to run the Marines
on weight control like we do every Saturday morning (we make them
show up to run, thus ruining their weekends until they get the
clue that they better get into shape if they ever want a full
weekend off).
Captain Bash was driving and, after waiting for the Majors
who were late, we all piled into his Caravan with our gear,
excited to get this much anticipated event started. The adventure
was about to begin!!!
When we got there, we checked into a room at a local hotel.
Gary Bash had run this before and was smart enough to make reservations.
All the rooms were full in the little town so it was a good
idea. After checking in to the hotel, we took a trip to get
checked in with the marathon organizers. Getting our materials
(including the coveted T-shirt) would save us time in the morning.
It seems that the T-shirt was the all-important trophy. With
it, you had actual proof that you did, indeed, run a marathon.
More than once, the joke surfaced that we could take the shirts,
make a vow of secrecy, and scuttle off to Vegas for the weekend
and no one would be the wiser.
After checking in, we decided to go do a leader’s recon
to the marathon start/finish. Gary had run this before so he
was familiar with the terrain. We drove there and saw lots of
people camped out. I can understand them wanting to get the
maximum amount of rest before the run but to sleep in a tent
on the floor before a marathon did not seem like the brightest
idea in the world.
We had dinner that night at an Italian restaurant where
I had a plate of lasagna and bread. A LOT of lasagna. Then we
went to a café where I had cheesecake and two cups of
coffee. We were pounding water all day so hydration was not
a problem. I thought that fuel was the key. Hell, I would need
it and burn it away the next day anyway.
The night was relaxing. With nothing more to do but rest
and watch TV, we all went over to the Majors’ room and watched
part of Fargo. I got tired of laying on the floor so I went
back to my room and read a little bit. Gary and I had gotten
the rawer deal of the two rooms since the one we got had one
double bed and a fold-out couch. Gary, being the intensely polite
man that he is, insisted that I take the bed and he made due
with the couch. Right before I went to sleep, I asked Gary if
he snored. He said no and I said that I did not either.
That night I had a weird dream. I dreamed that I heard loud
snoring and I was outside. There were coffins everywhere and
I knew that people were sleeping in them. I was looking for
the cause and opened one of the coffins. In it was my brother
but he was not snoring. I hurriedly shut the coffin and went
to the next one. As I opened it, I saw my son, Alex and he was
snoring loudly. Right at that moment, I awoke and I realized
that the snoring that I heard in my dream was actually coming
from Gary. It was a weird experience.
The stories:
The Explanation
The Training
The Shopping
The Trip
Forsaken
The Run
Evacuate |