Finished...and feeling guilty

Well, that's done :-) I'm still waiting on the posting of the official results, but my watch time has me in at 1:40:15. Not too shabby, considering the weather, my over-indulgence in cookies last night, and my lack of focus these last few weeks.

It was a fun (??) race that started with a great night on Friday. Susan, David, April-Anne, Michelle, Dianna, Jason, and myself all met-up for pre-race dinner. It was so nice to see everyone again...made me realize how out-of-touch with the RBF I've been these last few weeks. Sure, I scan through people's blogs, but my mind is elsewhere. So, dinner was a good reminder of how supportive and good-natured these people are...how easy it is to have a comfortable conversation with "sort of" strangers. I did manage to bake a small batch of my mom's cookies...unfortunately, I also managed to eat my share of those cookies on the ride home. Lots of stress going on...and they were just sitting there, all lonely on the seat next to me. I really gave myself a tummy ache :-)

This morning I briefly touched-base with Susan and David, and then headed to the port-a-potties. The weather was *miserable*: lots and lots of rain. It was so wet and miserable that the announcer's speakers kept fuzzing and shorting-out. It made for a very, very, very painful rendition of the National Anthem. The race started, though it took a very long time to cross the timing mats. I felt really out of it and had no idea where I was in the starting line. The first mile was a definite waste of energy, as I dodged people left and right. I bumped into Michelle and April-Anne at an early water-stop, and caught-up to Dianna a little further up the road. Everyone was looking strong and I promised to see them at the finish (a broken promise, I'm afraid).

The miles passed...right now I'm so worn-out that I can think of much that was really memorable about the race. Give me a day or two to recollect the details.

The finish was good...I was handed water, a finishers medal, and offered one of those thermal-wrap thingies I see in pictures. I declined, feeling a little sheepish that I'd only done 13 miles and didn't really need the pampering :-) I walked around a bit, and started to feel pretty ill. My tummy was complaining about something (probably the cookies) and the weather started to really get nasty. I walked to get more water, and really, really thought about how I was feeling. I figured I'd walk to the car, get dry clothes (why??), call my husband to let him know I had finished in one piece (sort of), and then I'd head back to the finish line to look for everyone. Once I got to the car, I knew I needed to just go home. And I did...and I feel guilty that I didn't hang around to see everyone finish.

I guess I'll just have to immerse myself in their race reports!

I'm going to head to bed now (it's not even 9pm) as I need to go to work (again) tomorrow. Thanks for all the good wishes :-) You guys are great, really you are.