Funnies I Forgot

I knew I forgot to report a bunch of amusing pieces of the half marathon in yesterday's post. As I was trying to get back to sleep at 3AM this morning, I remembered a few:

Mile 7 Request... or Demand

A few years ago I ran a half marathon with Megan. It was super hilly and had an afternoon start which made figuring out what and when to eat before the race really tough. Oh, and it was her first road race EVER. All of these things conspired to make it a pretty enourmous challenge for her. Along for the run was Megan's friend, Rebecca. In an effort to 'inspire' ourselves (or maybe annoy ourselves enough that we would get to the finish line just to be away from us!) we would sing random songs. Loudly. And badly. At about mile 6.5, we started in with "Living on a Prayer", you know, because we were "half way there.. whoooaaah, livin' on a prayer." We amused ourselves quite a bit and now I find myself thinking of that song when I am half way through many of my runs, whether it's in a race or just a training run.

But see Jon, it actually DOES make a difference if we make it or not. (He's SO much cuter now than then, isn't he?)

So, at the water stop at mile 7 I told the volunteers there they ought to serenade the runners with "Livin' on a Prayer." And then I started singing it. Loudly. And badly. I got several amused, but MANY confused responses as I trotted off. I'm guessing they didn't sing that song to anyone... but maybe they did. A girl can dream.

Mile 9 Psych Out

All along the course the mile markers were fantastic. Nice big signs on the left hand side of the road with enormous numbers letting you know how far you have come. Some races, I swear, try to keep you guessing.  Because I kept hitting the 'lap' button on my watch, I never saw anything past 8:45 on the watch, which was pretty cool for my simple brain. I would glance down at the watch and know instantly about how many minutes I had before I would see a mile sign. After mile 8 I glanced at my watch and saw 5:something. Then I glanced up and saw a big, wonderful 9 on the side of the road. "What's that now!?" I knew I hadn't gone a whole mile in that time but I started hoping that the 8 mile mark was a little off and maybe I was going a bit faster than I thought. So maybe... MAYBE... I really was at the 9 mile mark. As I got closer I realized the mile marker sign was yellow. The others were white. As I got closer still I noticed that the mile marker sign had a bunch of extra writing on it.The others merely said "Mile X". As I got within 10 yards or so I read the sign:

State Vehicle Inspection

9

2013

Yeah. I was running by an auto shop that was letting people know they could do safety and emissions inspections and the current stickers would get you through September - ninth month - 2013.

Big fat bummer. But, again, highly amusing!

Mile 10 Water Stop. 

At this point the race is just plain HARD. There's still a good chunk of race left so you can't help but think about how much could still go wrong in the final 3.1. So, anything that can distract you from the drudgery ahead is good. I had this happen in the form of a nip bottle of Jack Daniels.

It's not just for breakfast anymore.

It was lying on the ground about 20 yards after the water stop. In my head it went like this: One of the faster ladies gets mile 10 and decides, "Screw it. This Gatorade needs a little more kick!" And then she cracks open the bottle, pours it in to the cup, and chug-a-lugs.

Maybe it's just me but that vision, and imagining the consequences of such a decision, amused me almost all the way to mile 11.

Okay. Enough looking back. I'm already a day behind for the race I did YESTERDAY, so FORWARD! Happy running!