post the twenty-ninth, 2013

i got up on time and didn't have any trouble getting out the door. i knew basically where i was going, but i can never remember the exit number, so i asked siri for help, which she politely provided. i dialed up pandora raw comedy channel and settled in for an uneventful drive.

uneventful... until i realized i'd gone too far. sometimes siri doesn't get all the details - like EXIT NUMBERS - correct. so, i asked her again and she managed to get me accurately turned around and on the right track. good thing i had like 10 mins to spare since i knew if i were late, the group would leave without me.

lah, lah, lah.

i am almost there when i round a corner and BOOM. SNOW. hey, whaaat? it wasn't snowing right there where i just was, but it is sure as hell snowing here. it was like driving into a car wash - that sudden - but of course there wasn't any soap or any of those flailing cloth strips, but still - like driving into a car wash.

i arrived at the destination, parked, donned hood and mittens and garmin, deboarded the car, entered the coffee-shop-starting-point, visited the restroom (demittened, remittened), and just like that i'm ready to go. found a couple of people i know, couldn't see coach anywhere, endured the welcome yak-yak, and took off with the crowd.

the pace felt too hot, but it always feels too hot at first, and we were going downhill, so i kept at it. the snow landing on my eyeballs was a bit uncomfortable. i was hoping the snow (and the pace) would slow up.

the first, like, mile and a half is downhill. then we climb a bridge to cross the river, take a short jag down again, then up up up and more up. when we get to 4 there's a water stop, but i keep on going. i don't like to stop because i might not start up again.

i've been keeping up with this girl whom i know because we have the same coach. she's friendly enough and all, but we've only met a few times, so it's not like we have a ton to talk about. pluswise, i get this vibe off her that it's okay to just jog along together and that's cool by me, too, so we do.

when we get to the second water stop, she stops and i don't and just like that i am on my own. the group is all spread out. i can see some ahead of me and know there are some behind me, but no one is right with me. the snow has let up but it's cold as hell and between the melted snow and the sweat (who sweats in the snow??) i am a touch damp. i have run this route before and for me, this is sort of a tough section of the course. if you look at it objectively, there's nothing about it that's all that hard. it's just... it's just tedious, i guess.

so i'm in the tedious section and i am on my own and cold. twice i hear an over-eager runner behind me and i slow down a touch so they will pass me. go ON. just go on around. jeez. the snow has stopped harassing us and i don't need YOU harassing me with your eagerness. i am really not happy here and just want to be done. (but, at halfway into this tedious stretch is where we hit half of the whole run so i am no where near done.)

my legs continue to cause my feet to move, and time continues to pass, and just like that we're back at the water stop. a couple of guys from the general group of folks who hang with coach are there, and i quickly swallow my pride, tell them i am lonely and can they slow a bit. i didn't think they heard me, but when we started up again either i was keeping up with them or they slowed, and either way, the result is the same, and i feel better.

actually... huh. actually, i feel really good. i overtake a couple people before we get back to the first water stop. now i am the annoying over-eager one.

we round the roundabout, pass the water stop, and tip down for the long, long downhill we had had to attack on the way up. i am really feeling strong here, and yes, it's downhill, but still, we are like 10 miles in at this point, so i will take it.

uphills become down, downhills up, as we reverse our course. with no ulterior motive which i can discern, the guys are fairly busy blowing sunshine up my ass, telling me i can run a sub-4 marathon and whatnot. they're in good company - coach says the same thing - but i don't know... i just can't accept it yet. somewhere in here, they claim our overall pace is around 8:30 and i am floored. i haven't been looking at my watch (on purpose), but this is just too much.

i am mulling all these things as we cross under the freeway bridge. the final 1.5 or so - such an inspiring downhill to start - is oppressive. i am back to totally wanting to be done and i can feel myself trudging, slowing, focusing too much on breathing which is becoming too labored when out of the blue, one of the guys starts asking my opinion on ken follett's "pillars of the earth" and various other ken follett books because he read in my blog that i like ken follett, especially POTE, and while i would happily discuss POTE anytime, this guy is really not that much of a talker. while i am sure he's a reader and a follett fan, and who wouldn't love POTE, i suspect he's less interested in follett at this very moment and more in trying to distract me through the final mile. at least, that's my take and it makes me smile inside and i pick it up a bit, and even pick it up enough to have a semblance of kick towards the end.

what is there to say about a run like this, a run where my eyebrows are frosted, a run where i can't feel my hands at the end, a run where i pushed myself and my self said "roger that". all there is to say is... WHAT NOW, BITCHES.