Sunday, October 27, 2013, arrived; the alarm clock went off at 4 AM. We weren’t ready so we hit snooze until it was 4:15 AM. The alarm clock went off again and this time IT WAS SHOWTIME!!!
Today was the day my Babe was going to run his very first marathon. Now for those of you in the cheap seats (I am a former member), a marathon is a set distance; the exact distance of 26.2 miles. DAMN, THAT’S A LOT.
We (shut up so what no I wasn’t running too) have been building up to this moment for a long time. He registered back in March and had been training ever since. During his training, he never ran more than 13 miles. However, he would frequently run from our home to our sons Martial Arts Studio which is about 6.5 miles from the house.
It became a game for family and friends to randomly spot him running around town. Hahahahaha I even got a couple of messages from my Facebook friends who had no idea he was training but would say they thought they saw him (insert a random place/street) running. Each time I would reply and say “Yup, that was him”. Lol
It was cold Sunday morning so the kids (Almost 2 year old & almost 9 years old) and I layered up so we would be warm. It was early, it was cold and it was dark. We took the train to the Pentagon, from there you had to walk a mile to the start.
Comcast Sports Net was out there filming LIVE and they said it was 30,000+ runners participating. They had a small opening ceremony and some former service members parachuted down with American flags, it was really cool.
On top of that, they also had hand cyclist which was so inspiring. Some of them had no legs and yet they were out there enjoying life just the same. I was so hoping Dick & Rick Hoyt were there; if you don’t know who they take this time to get some knowledge. I watched a Real Sports story on them years ago and their story is amazing. I totally wanted to see them.
Fast forward to the start of the race, my Babe is all warmed up and he is ready to go. He has taken off his jacket, sweatshirt, and sweatpants. He is ready for take-off in shorts, t-shirt, thermal shirt hat, and gloves. He had on just enough to keep him warm but he could easily toss them when he got hot. *PAUSE* So it’s a thing that runners do (apparently, I had no idea) when it’s cold. They put on clothes they don’t mind tossing off while running. WHO KNEW! This was fascinating to me, what’s even better is someone goes out and collects the items the runners toss off as their bodies warm up and then they donate the clothes to the Homeless. GREAT IDEA!
The Cannon went off and the cyclist started, then the cannon went off again and the runners were off. By now it was a little after 8 AM and they are embarking on a 26.2-mile adventure around Virginia & Washington, DC. The kids made a sign for Dad, I mean this was his first marathon and his 35th Birthday so we had to make sure he felt the love. I decided we would metro hop around the city to try and catch him along the route. FUNNERS! So that is exactly what we did.
Our first stop was to Rosslyn, they were setting up the finisher’s festival down there. We went to Starbucks for a snack and hot chocolate. From there we took the train down to the Smithsonian. If I timed it right (I did, POW!) we would catch him between mile 17 & 18 down on the mall. While waiting the kids had their sign up, we screamed, shouted and rang cowbells while cheering on the other runners and cyclist. We made friends with some others who were also out there cheering and looking for their loved one. Folks made some very “colorful” and creative signs. “Go Random Stranger Go” was one of my favorite.
After we saw him we packed up and ran to the other side of the mall so we could catch him at Mile 19.
My Babe at mile 19!
Hahahahaha He never stopped, he never walked, and he ran the entire 26.2 miles.
He did it, and we were there to greet him.
Am I reading right that he was 1458 out of 30k runners?!?!
Yes, and this was only his FIRST TIME! He is half man half amazing.