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On Saturday night, I met the team in the lobby of the Westin and we walked together to the Expo where I picked up my race bib and goodie bag. I tried some free samples of energy drinks and bars. The plan was for Adam to drop Charlotte off with me at 4:30 so she could go to the Inspiration dinner with me. But I ended up going to the Inspiration Dinner alone because Charlotte was asleep in the car when the time came. I sat with Suzanne and her husband and Coach Sue and her husband. The food wasn't remarkable, but the speeches were definitely inspiring. I teared up a little a few times.
While I was at dinner, Adam checked in to our hotel which was about 4.5 miles from the Westin and then came back and picked me up. They had advertised having a free shuttle to the start line, but when we got there we found out they only had a 12 passenger van running every half hour and that all seats were already booked. I put myself on a waiting list for the 5:30 a.m. shuttle.
I went to bed around 9, but due to too many energy drinks and bars or just pre-race jitters, woke up frequently throughout the night. I ended up giving up on sleep and getting out of bed at 4:15, just before my alarm was going to go off. After quietly getting ready, I snuck out of the room without waking Adam and Charlotte, grabbed some continental breakfast, and went to see if I could make it on to the shuttle. If not, I would have to go back and wake them up and have Adam drive me down to the start. Fortunately, the hotel ended up hiring a second van and I made it onto the 2nd 5:30 shuttle.
I was down at the start line in time to cheer Coach Jennifer and two full marathon walkers from our team. I found Suzanne, Coach Lynn and two other teammates in line for the portapotties and then we joined the rest of the OCIE team in the crowd near the staging area where the participants were beginning to form the waves behind the starting line. Tasneem, the Indian lady who I walked with last week when my regular walking buddy Pat missed practice, was there too. Coach Lynn led us to Wave 5, saying she likes to start at the back of the Wave faster than her normal pace so that she has plenty of room to move. Tas and I quickly fell behind Lynn and Suzanne. Kat, one of the mentors who is also a cancer survivor, was at several points along the course with a cow bell.
Starting at about mile 7, Tas was getting tired and consistently falling behind me. I'd stop and wait or slow down, but I was feeling good and really wanted to go faster. At about mile 9, I spotted Coach Sue ahead of us. When we caught up with Sue, I just kept walking and stopped waiting for Tas to catch up because I knew at least now she had company.
I kicked up my pace a notch and really enjoyed the last few miles, especially when I passed Bob and Vicki and Noah cheering me on from the median on Ocean just before Mile 11. At the 11.5 mile mark, Coach Jennifer was there giving us tips on how to finish strong. She urged each of us to push ourselves to the limit -- because of our training we'd recover quickly. I started walking even more briskly. I started passing people. Up ahead I saw the lady with the floppy hat who usually walks in the next slower pace group on Saturdays. A competitive streak kicked in -- I couldn't let her finish ahead of me. As I maneuvered around a clot of people, I found myself starting to jog. It felt great to use different muscles, so I kept jogging for a bit, then resumed my faster walking.
Adam and Charlotte were waiting to cheer me on and snap photos at the top of the finish chute.
As I passed them, I heard the race MC announcing that there was a minute left until four hours from the Wave 1 gun. I decided I needed to beat the clock and I started jogging again. I ended up crossing the finish line at 3:59:30 gun time, which was about 3:39:30 from when I actually began walking with Wave 5. We took the shuttle back to the hotel, and on the way, got to listen to the Angels clinch the American West Division title. :)
I was pretty sore and tired that afternoon, but Adam and I still took Charlotte to the aquarium after a brief break to shower and nap. Charlotte particularly enjoyed the tropical fish.
After the aquarium, it was time for my birthday surprise: Adam booked a room for us at the hotel on the Queen Mary! It was so elegant and comfortable. I'd been wanting to stay there since one of our first dates almost 6 years ago when we went to their Shipwrecked Halloween event and snuck into the hotel section of the ship and danced in the hallway to a jazz singer playing in one of the restaurants.
The Victory Party food was much better than the Inspiration dinner had been. I sat with Suzanne and her husband again, and Vicki and Coach Noah and his wife joined us. Charlotte was asleep in the car again, and I had Adam come to pick me up at 7:45 because I was pretty tired. I was asleep by 9 again and slept great in the comfy king sized bed at the Queen Mary.
I had such a great, memorable weekend. I really appreciated seeing familiar faces along the course to cheer us on.
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