This is not a Race Report

We finished things up yesterday by starting out with 61 miles on the trainer (we ended up at 54 on Saturday) while it rained pretty heavily. That was the easiest trainer ride I've ever done! And then it was time to do the 27 mile run.

It wasn't pouring, but there was still a steady rain falling when we began the run. Both of us having done rainy Ironman's, we knew to lube up heavily. I had planned out a run "route," and the intention was to do 6.5 miles out and then back, and then stay on the same general route, completing how ever many loops we each individually wanted to do to finish things out.

I was totally thrilled that Rob wanted to run with me. WITH ME! I'm in awe of his running prowess, and I had no clue about how I'd be able to run, considering I'd run like crap at IMLP and that I'd felt somewhat injured the last 3 weeks. Plus, I just don't think of myself as a "runner." But whatever it was, I didn't feel too badly, and I was happy for the running motivation, which was helped by the awesome...um...scenery. Thanks, man!

We did the 6.5 mile out and back together, dodging various flooded roads and sidewalks, getting our feet totally soaked, including a downhill at mile 10 where an SUV decided it just had to plow through all this standing water and create a nice wave that washed up onto my calves. Then it was up the 1-mile hill and 2 more miles mostly gentle downhill to finish out the first 13. We stopped back home for some warm chicken broth and a change of clothes and shoes, since the rain seemed to be tapering off somewhat.

Then we both went out 2+ miles, and Rob went another mile out while I wimped out and turned around because I didn't want to have to run back up the 1-mile hill again. I run that hill (well, maybe it's not a hill to him) a lot in training runs, and I just didn't think I had that much hill running in me today.

I stopped briefly at home for some fluids and headed out for my next 2+ out and then back. Rob went out to the 2+ out, saying he'd catch up to me already going back, but it took him a bit longer than either he or I expected. I was running pretty well at this point, but was starting to feel the usual "this is a long way to run" stuff, plus we spent a lot of time on concrete sidewalks, and even though the rain had let up, it would spray on and off. After we were joined back up, we decided we could use some more warm chicken broth back at the house.

At this point (of course it was difficult to do math, and we had to do the calculations probably three times), Rob was at 24.2 miles and I was at 22.2, so I needed to do the 2+ out and back plus a little more to hit my 27. Rob wanted to stay with me and just do some extra miles (no big deal for him), but as happy as I had been to spend so much time running with him (and being amazed that he would run at my pace), I told him he should just do his 27, and I'd enjoy my last 2 miles running alone.

I had put the red blinky necklace on, and it was getting dark (just after 7PM), and the rain had finally stopped, so people were out walking in this park that we ran by 8 times, I suppose after having been cooped up for 3 straight days of rain. I have to say here that there were at least 4 times in this stretch that there was a girl on rollerblades with child in stroller and a friend of hers on the sidewalk that never budged every time we ran by. Where the hell were they going? Apparently nowhere, since while they were camped out in THE EXACT SPOT on this sidewalk about 1.75 miles from home, we've been running a fucking marathon. You could move, you know. I'm just sayin'. Come on, people--get the fuck outta my way here and give me something to run on! Whatever.

I'm sure I looked odd running with the blinky thing on all by myself. Two women looked at me funny, and I felt compelled to tell them that I was running a marathon and that's why I was blinking. At the time it made sense to me, but now that I write it down, how would someone think that the two things were related?

It felt pretty good when I was about where mile 26 would be, knowing that now I was doing something I'd never done before. After my little rough patch around miles 20-21, my legs were again feeling pretty good, because I knew I was about done. When I got home, Rob kept making me run up and down my driveway trying to get a finishing shot of me running--don't know whether he got one or not, but I was laughing because I could have kept running, but I did sort of want to stop. My right foot never did bother me one iota and neither of us got blisters or chafed, and yeah, maybe it wasn't a big deal because we spread things over 2 days, but still, we just ran 27 miles (I ended up running my 27 in 4:35, what the hell!), and yet we felt pretty great.

There were then many beers, a bottle of champagne and pizza, many, many smiles and general good feelings. I don't remember all of what we talked about last night, but it was all good, including the usual endorphin high, sense of accomplishment and all that. It's really difficult to talk about how doing something like this feels. It's way different than an actual race--in some ways, so much more satisfying--and when I look at how I rode and ran, it was really good for me, so I think that I have some more unexplored potential. Maybe.

OK, so those are some of the facts. Here's the important stuff: the whole weekend was fucking awesome. I had a good hunch that Rob and I would get along really well, and we did, and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have done this with. It just worked between us without any effort. All I had to do was point him in in the right direction and he was good, and he provided a lot of great decision making when I couldn't seem to do it, gave me a little bit of HTFU on Saturday and got me to run really well on Sunday. We had quiet stretches, thoughtful periods and plenty of laughs.

It was Nothing and Everything and perfect! I highly recommend it, but you know--next time around there might be NothingMan qualifiers :)

Oh--by the way--I am registered for Ironman Canada 2009 as well as IMLP 2009. How did that happen, you ask? Well, Brett told me he got into IMCA during the unanticipated online registration a few weeks ago, and I was talking to him about how great that race is and how I'd like to do it again. And then fate took over, as a second online registration opened up, but I still wasn't thinking about it until Rob told me he was going to try and get in, and I thought I'd try (knowing that I could do both IMLP and IMCA) but really didn't think I'd get in, and then we were talking on the phone and trying to register at the same time (it's true what they say--simultaneous Ironman registration really is hot), and we both got in at about the same time, and neither of us had really planned it, but now it's done. So I get to do the infamous IMLP/IMCA double. How fucking cool will that be?

But I'm pretty sure I'll still find a way to do something nothing soon enough. I'm not sure I can wait another year for it. I know that whenever it is, it will be good and everything I thought it was cracked up to be. Just like NothingMan 2008. It really was something.