After the race, I took a long catnap with Dori. Will and I then took in most of a Vandy baseball game. Around 6, I meandered over to my sister's house to decompress and drink a beer with her and husband Stephen. While there, a woman with Emily Litella hair and glasses (think Saturday Night Live, late 70s) approached their fence. With her medal around her neck eight hours after the finish, she started talking about the race with a semi-crazed look in her eye.
Anne said, "You raced? So did my brother!" ... and headed inside for an imaginary refill. Talk about backing over your brother after throwing him under the bus. Cordial Jim handled the matter with aplomb, congratulating her, then issued Anne her demerits. On the way to dinner, we saw "Emily" getting in a post-race jog, medal a-swaying. Bless her heart.
Dinner was at South Street, a favorite hangout. We grabbed a beer at the bar and met a guy from Boston who ran the marathon in 4:25. He said he was running a marathon or half marathon every month this year "so he can lose 30 pounds." There are other ways to do that, you know, I thought, but how can you spoil a dude's vacation? "Great time," I said, as he nodded while slurping oysters.
We ordered the BBQ Feast for 4. I'm a BBQ snob, but the platter was excellent - a full rack of ribs, two halves of chicken, pulled pork, corncakes with corn, cuban corn, black beans, fries and a killer white sauce. Best Q I've had since I fired up my smoker. Tasted good on Sunday, too.
The only way I'll run the CMM again is if I'm in a front corral. The logjam thing is really an issue, especially starting from a corral past 7 or 8. (Whine alert) Too many walkers and very slow runners start near the front, too many teams walk in a row of four or five, and too many people seem determined to run over you with their iPods at maximum volume. It's a great race, but it seems like organizers need to tighten things.
It's nice to have beer and coffee back in the rotation. Frozen yogurt and ice cream are on deck. I'm only planning one short run this week, a few walks with the dog and a long hike on Saturday. It's hard to whine about that.
2 comments:
Hey, nice job in the race. I decided to skip the 5K Saturday and just watch. I didn't think it was a good idea to be elbow to elbow with all those people. In the meantime, I keep jogging 2 miles every other day, patiently awaiting my first post-transplant competition. I'll get there.
Thanks, Patty. Keep up the great running and let us know when you take the 5K plunge. I hope it's sooner rather than later for you. It'll be another good sign you're putting the Beast and its after-effects behind you.
Jim
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