And Then What Happened....

Richmond Marathon Race Report 2011

Slept in a hotel down town with Pixie Green the night before my race (scantily clad pillow fights aside, I slept really well...).  I woke up early and walked to the meet point.  I had connected with a runner on the SunTrust Marathon Facebook Page who needed someone to please pick up his packet.  5 emails and three weeks later, I handed him his race packet on the steps of SunTrust Bank.

I got some pre-race love from SpeeDee.  Connected with the posse.  And got a hug from Coach Black that made me feel down right warm.  At this point, I was pretty sure that TODAY WAS MY DAY. I had a goal, a back up goal, and a basket goal.

In the start corral there was snuggling, it was cozy, Jess & Jodi joined the fun, and we all saw DeNiece “off to find her group”.  It was the last time I would see DeNiece until we finished, and as she walked away I thought – go get it Denise.  Go get that BQ.

Miles 1 – 5 Karasmatic & Q, 3L & KC, & I had way too much fun talking about… well, NOT talking about Lickable Abs, Cycling, and other random sh*t.  There was hazing, razzing, and general love in the air.  I felt PERFECT.  I am certain I drank at least 8 oz. of water in the first 6 miles.  Stingers on schedule.  I felt great, and when it was time to decide on my pace for the next 6 miles, I decided to go for the UBER goal pace.  It wasn't blistering, I run 8:50's all the time.

Saw the fam in the Party Zone at 6, cruised through to the hill at 10.  We held each other in check, I refilled my empty bottle.  There was something on the edge of my mind that wondered why my joints were achy at mile 10.  I brushed it back with a positive thought about not thinking negative thoughts.

Miles 10 – 12 Blair! The KING of Pink Nation. It was GREAT to see him, he has the most epic smile – but I admitted to him, I didn’t feel quite right at this point.  I couldn’t put my finger on the “why” of it.  I dropped back into a slightly more “easy” pace around a 9.  I wasn’t looking at my watch, just running on feel.

So then what happened?  Well, I GOT A HALF MARATHON PR – 1:56:48.

After the half mats I saw Cozy & 3L for the last time and I thought to myself – go get it girls.

Around 14 I had a bad moment where the entire world spun.  This is a distance I normally find pretty easy… so… I was weirded out.  I couldn’t walk a straight line & stumbled a few times.  My head came back to me, and I started jogging.  MTT Coach Val spotted me…  “I’m dizzy”… and so we started walking together.  She was so sweet.  “I had to stop 3 times at Chicago” ~ awe, thanks Val. 

I left her, and turned for the bridge.  I think I was running again, but maybe not.  Who knows, the entire run at this point became a play of "how long can you run before the world spins?" SpeeDee jumped in with me.  I told her that I was chomping down honey stingers and drinking, but something wasn’t on track. 

And then what happened?  “GBA_GF, WHY ARE YOU WALKING?”  And T and I connected again. 

I said, “Oh good, I was waiting for you.”  We left SpeeDee, and I thought, I’m with T now, I’m invincible.

MCM found me on the course at the junk food stop. I was going to refill my hand held.  Uh, that only works if you haven’t lost the lid… so I tossed my hand held away.  Along with my white Nike visor, which, was the enemy at that point.  Not sure why I thought that, but ~ what ev.  Runners are weird.

T, to be honest, I don't remember feeling as strong as we
look right here.

T & I made the turn onto Main Street together.

Oh, and remember that time we made running a marathon look easy?  Yeah, me too.

I gave T a salt pill, and she suddenly couldn’t hang.  Hindsight:  I should have walked with her then.  But I didn’t know how long until my next dizzy spell, so I was afraid to walk when my head was OK.  A bad decision that seemed sane in the moment.

I kept plugging forward until on Main Street at an intersection somewhere near the pastel houses, the Richmond Marathon course actually spun. 

Like, a 360. 

And so when it stopped spinning I was standing on the side of the course with my hands on my knees.  I stood up took two steps, staggered, and reached out as the course spun again.  My hand connected with something metal, the rusty paint bit into my fingers, and I held on for dear life.  I was on the sidewalk, holding a street sign.  When I lifted my head a cop in the intersection pointed at me.  I waved him off and gave him a thumbs up.

I was lying, but ~ runners are weird.

After a minute, I started walking again.  And then jogging again.  Connected with Karen.  And then El.  El gave me her drink & lots of advice.

I made the turn to Boulevard, and then, out of nowhere, Wine Not Whine was with me.  I don’t know how it happened or where she came from.  She ~ shoot I’m all teary thinking back on it ~ she says, “I’m feeling a little super hero formation here…”.  And then Pants Guy joined us for a few steps (Thanks Pants Guy).  So WnW and I made our way to the Party Zone and my head spun again.  I was so happy she looked so strong and amazing as she ran off… and I thought – go get it WnW.

Then I saw H, and said, “hey, it’s not my day.  Its going to take me a while to get there from here”.  I kissed my kids, ate ½ a banana, a salt pill & took a bottle of water.  Got some love from my BFF PAULIE!  (thanks Paulie) Something made me glance back here, and T had caught up.  I waited, we did a GU exchange and T and I, with our bottle of water in hand, set out to finish this race. 

“We’ve run this 100 times.”  Stadium to the Arch.  We saw Cherine (thanks Cherine) and then Illusive at a water stop; (thanks Illusive, you were great).  Into Bellevue, through the arch  (Yeah, Blair, I saw the sign… and Coach Black, was that the Black Team’s sign tacked onto the bottom?) and I let T go… and I thought to myself, “She can still get it… I SO hope she can get it". - go get it T.

I turned my watch screen so it only showed "time of day."  See, I had another spell that stopped me in my tracks and I thought, “Your race is over.  You’re now in survival.  Stop trying to kill yourself and be smart.”    

I walked a water stop keeping strictly to the shade, ate a stinger, and walked while I waited for the spinning to stop.  I started running again at a slow jog with the hopes that I could catch Young Stephanie (who I could see in the distance).  I thought, the sooner you finish, the sooner you can go to bed. 

My head ached.  My body ached.  I was sleepy.  I could not imagine why I felt this way, but I thought, “It’s a marathon, it’s supposed to hurt.”

I saw The White Rabbit on Brook Rd… and when the white rabbit took my hand and said, “com’on you’re running” I started running, and then I ran until Lombardy, AKA, The Lombardy Wind Tunnel.

El, Young Stephane, (me in the back), and Karasmatic

I don’t know if I was walking or running when I heard my BiolaBud (I pretty much love you) with yet ANOTHER Stephanie on the course inviting me to join them.  We picked up some random runners, and ran together past the Lululemon corner!  (Cheers to you all, you really know how spectate runners).  And then we caught Young Stephanie and gathered her into the fold, and I was determined we were going finish this together.

Chronologically things are a bit blurry.  It was running punctuated by world spinning.  

I looked down Grace and saw a pair of Viking horns. I thought, “oh, I’ve really disappointed Q.”  (hey, we’re honest here on the blog).  I heard his voice all the way down the street, “I thought I’d missed someone!”  He ran back to me and fell in beside me to run with me…  “What happened?”  Not accusatory, more... curiosity.

“Well.  It wasn’t my day. I got dizzy, and walked through the dizzy parts…  I think that added a lot time to my run today.”

He looked/sounded a bit shocked.  “Well, I think it probably subtracted a lot of time from your hospital stay…” I laughed as he continued, “so yeah.  If you run through dizziness they get to scrape you off the ground.”

We chatted a minute and he left me in the capable hands of beautiful Karasmatic! Young Stephanie, Karasmatic, El & I made our way in SUPER HERO FORMATION down the street.

Southern Comfort joined us and I realized:  Today wasn’t my day, but THIS was how it was meant to be.  

I was running in with my posse, I was with 2 of my favorite coaches. We were laughing about my disastrous marathon.  We were laughing, and I can prove it.  (Photo credit to Kty J) 

 

And then what happened?  I made peace with my day at mile 26.  It wasn’t my day.  But it was a great day for a run.  And well, we all know how much I love my run.

I have a saying I came up with a few years ago…

“When something goes wrong in a marathon, it doesn't go wrong by 2 minutes.  It goes wrong by 26+ minutes.”

Well I missed my goal by 26+ minutes.

10K 55:57

Half 1:56:48

20 mile split 3:09:57

Chip Time 4:26:19

At the finish, when I connected to H, my son G was laying on the sidewalk “spectating”.  He was asleep in a sunny patch.  Turns out G was pretty sick all day.  

And late last night, after the race, I joined The Vom- Squad complete with fever, chills, & body aches.  So there’s an explanation as to why it wasn’t my day, or an excuse, however you want to look at it.

A Marathon Takes Dedication

A marathon takes dedication, hardwork, and dedication.

I said dedication twice, because it takes twice as much dedication as hard work.  If you don’t stick to the plan there’s not a lot that hard work can do….

But as I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, this is not that kind of dedication.

I’m probably the luckiest runner in the world.  I have a support system that is enviable, and I would be a fool if I thought I could get to the start line without the help of the people in my life.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”  ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Mile Marker 1 is dedicated to the man I love.

2 is for my parents.  I'm under the impression that they think I’m a little nuts.  But it would seem they still love me anyway, so that’s nice.

3 is for my 3 Klingons - B’nut, G & C…. My little nut keeps me on my toes, my son inspires me to be ~epic~, and my C is a reminder that fashion is above all other things… form follows function… function follows fashion.

4 is for 4 strong women.  Pink Brooke & her Pink Running Wife.  You two inspire me for reasons I cannot explain in 2 sentences.  and for Ellie - savor every mile.  and for Pam because she knows the meaning of being a good running friend.

Mile 5 is for the ones we lost this year.  I think it's summed up pretty well on this sticker.  ---->

Mile 6 is for, "And then what V?" 


“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.” 
― Paulo Coelho, Eleven Minutes

"Lucky" #7 is for The Witch Dr's MAGIC THUMB.  

Mile 8 is for Birch.  Can I just say I'm so glad I was such a "jerk" that day you were working the SAG?  Thanks for reminding me that it's hot in Texas, to Try Not to Suck, and that I know how to Run like SNOT.

9... nine, feeling fine... and that's probably because I trained for this marathon with an AMAZING Posse.  This mile is dedicated to the YMCA Tuesday Morning Posse of Stephanies, Shannon, & so many others!  And I appreciate them all, even when they're having a tough time.  Miriam is one of my favorites & hot damn she is fast! believe in yourself, I do!  Stephanie, Stephanie & Mustang: embrace the moment and have fun.  Shannon, be a PR, be a PROUD RUNNER.  Kathryn & Kristi - Run Well!  Ga & Kathleen- you're only half crazy, but that's OK!  You've all worked so hard!  And NO ONE who consistently meets for a 5:15am run is any thing less than BADA**.  You ladies ROCK!

10 is for Lion.  It's just nice to know you're out there, quietly supporting and cheering.  And know that I'm doing the same.... all awkward and ~junk~.

me & Coach Black

11 is for Coach Black - because if he'd never invited me, I never would have run with Those People, and it turns out that some of Those People are kinda cool. You People, have a great race!


“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” ― Paulo Coelho

Mile 12 is for Professor S. (first decide if this is you, or not you, so if n=2, p=.5....).  On Saturday, "Try not to suck."

And Mile 13 is for Professor S.  On Saturday "Savor every moment."  

Mile 14 is for Rene' & Meredith.  One of these days we're going to get to the same state and run together.  It's just going to happen.  Thanks to both of you for being there for me even when you're not... and Mer don't ever doubt it, it stretches from one side of the country to the other....you know what I'm saying.

15 is dedicated to NOT TACKLING THE RED SHIRTS!  ...it's harder than it looks. 

16  is the Lee Bridge.... and it's for SHANZ who was recently quoted as saying, "Don't place a limit on yourself and dont make excuses". Coz that's just how we bada$$ mother runners roll, true?  (that post was more timely than you could possibly know, friend.  thanks.  And by the way my race plan includes making this bridge my b*tch.)

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” 
― Paulo Coelho


17 I can't see a VCU sign and not think of, Cozy KC.  This mile is for you.  I'm so glad we found each other.

Mile 18 is for The MAN and the coaches of MTT Pink, Purple, Teal, Red, Black, Yellow and Green....  you've inspired me with your wisdom, your wit, and your ability to discuss literature at 5:30am.  Thank you.  *And The MAN, the color is Sprint Mint, incase you need a bottle.......

Cozy, 3L, & GBA gf

19 is for 3L.  imagine a runner at the back of a room.... sweet 3L, you are the next level.  You inspire me to be great.  and Gracious.  And your wisdom stretches far beyond running.  And thanks for being the kind of friend I can call for a Woodbridge pickup.

20 is for DeNiece & Ocean - you two are great neighbor runners.  Run well today.

21 is for SpeeDee.  Because she knows why.  Today there is no such thing as the wall.  VH.

illusive he's not

Mile 22 is for Illusive Dave... who's working on eluding his illusiveness these days, and I'm glad for that.  Dave - BTW - is a freaking awesome wedding date, should you need one of those.

23 is for Karasmatic – because she gets Tequila inspired running, and because she has mad skillz on that road bike.  Thanks for being so unexpectedly wonderful.

24 is for Pixie Green... I can't even find the words...



“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” ― Paulo Coelho

Take up running, it's fun!(even the cranky hot coach thinks so)

25 is for Q... or is that I.Q.?  Or Vinnie? (~gag~).  It's hard to say everything I'd like to say here.  I think I will just go with "Thanks for not being the coach who pats me on the head and tells me what I want to hear... and at the same time, Thanks for being the coach who pushes me a little harder, a little farther, and a little smarter with every word you share with me.".  And was that an STFU?  Because it sure sounded like an STFU...  

Mile 26 is for my running wife, T.  "It's not Napping, it's Running".  It's supposed to be hard.  If it wasn't, it wouldn't be worth doing.  If I could sum it up in 12 words or less:  "I know a GREAT place for running" & "Are you awake?".  Because honestly there are either no words, or 1200.... but not a whole lot in between.

And the last .2 is for me, because once upon a time, I might have doubted I could run a mile.  


So google purple hair, and the first link says something about "Fun Hair".  And you all know how much I love fun.  So in honor of my sense of fun, and my Scooby Doo inspired race outfit, I had T "fix" my hair.  She's a genius.  It's Freaking amazing.  


My bib is #2297, my hair is purple, my outfit is epic... yes, I am ready.  It's time to run.

galactically bada** = Always epic.

I have a fever... and the only prescription is more cowbell.

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” 

― Paulo Coelho, 

~Savor the Run~

A Letter to my Running Wife

Dear T,

Once upon a time there was an overweight insecure mom with a crummy jogging stroller who wondered every single day how she was going to make it till 5pm…

…and then what happened? 

Well.  I met you.

In the years that we’ve known each other we have traveled thousands of miles by foot, flight and Beige Mini-van. 

We’ve slept together. 

We’ve contemplated Rooster-cide.

We've eaten cliff bars together all over the world.

We’ve honeymooned on a yacht (yeah, it doesn't suck to be us, True?).  

We’ve met Bart Yasso. 
We've run PR's.
We've run PU's.
We've run the last miles of each other's marathons.

We’ve hung out with my BFF Bart Yasso. (~ahem~ about that view) 

We’ve eaten vegan donuts with some bada**/freaktastic runners in SF.

We've won races.  Can I say that again.
We've FREAKING won races.  yeah, I know, seriously? We rock. 
And in all that you’ve shown me so much… too many things to count.

 

My favorite lessons from you are:

When someone tells you that you can’t, you DO IT ANYWAY.  And if that someone has a red shirt, you DO IT BETTER THAN THEM.  It’s an ideal that I love to embrace.

When things seem tough in the moment, you remind me to REMEMBER THE BIG PICTURE.  The big picture is bigger than Boston, Brooks or Lululemon… though, lulu…

You show us all to be PROUD of ourselves, and to REFLECT on the accomplishments we have achieved.  So congrats again on that 5K WIN… I love that you called me that day.

 You’ve shown me that it’s okay TO LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE, that you’ll never make someone else happy by living the way they want you to live, even if it means ignoring the people who scoff at how “crazy” we are.  Getting up at 4:30 in the morning to meet your running wife on a dark street is worth it, every time.

I love that you LISTEN TO YOUR HEART – and believe that what it tells you is possible.

So listen to your heart now.  Trust yourself as much as I trust you.

You are my running wife.

And if I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing, Red Shirts and all. 

love you,

g. 





Taper Island Day #10... and I'm not
even Jealous at all that T's out of  
here in ~like~ 3 days... 
b*tch.  
OH, is this thing on?

I Left My Heart in...

San Francisco?

Yeah, pretty much it was so much better than I thought it would be… the city.

Yeah, pretty much it was so much worse than I thought it would be… the race.

Yeah, it was freaking EPIC… the company.

I can’t organize my thoughts!  I’m beyond exhausted.  I landed in VA and turned around less than 24 hours later to get to MA to run the Providence RI Half Marathon this Sunday….

In the Non-runners are clueless category:

~ “All runners eat cliff bars.”  Instead of food, right?

~ “I know a great place you can run.”  A bike path along side of the freeway wouldn’t be my first choice.

~ “Are you ready to get up?  It’s almost 3:30 a.m.”  If a runner sets their alarm before a race, trust me. it’s freaking SET.  And double checked.  And there’s probably a back up alarm in the room.  Which has also been double and triple checked.

~ the above was made that much more entertaining by the dinner conversation 14 hours later … non-runner says, “G, you looked really tired this morning.  Were you tired?”  No.  Getting up 40 minutes before the alarm had no impact on my tiredness.  At all.

pre-race ~ naive has never been so cute.  or bright.  (or, in my case, short)

In the It’s Not as Hilly as you Fear category:

~ Yeah, it freaking is… don’t imagine for a minute that race has any flat after the first 3 miles.

~ If you get behind your pace before mile 3, say, almost 2 minutes behind due to major congestion at the start… forget it.  Stop fighting for the goal and pull out the camera.  My ONE regret of the weekend was not recognizing that my race was over at mile 2.

~ FYI – the last 2 miles of that race are effing BRUTAL.  T summed it up as “soul crushing”.  Yup.  That’s what it was…

~ I still got a 4 minute PR, so it could have been worse.

~ The course was BEAUTIFUL.

~ I LOVED meeting Kim, she's adorable on SO MANY LEVELS.  

Kim & T
T's worshiping Kim's awesomeness... ~ ahem.

In the Don’t go to San Fran on a diet category:

~ I loved every bite of every bit of food I found in SF.

~ The Ferry Building only sells deliciousness.

~ If you go to SF and manage to get through the Ferry Building without trying a vegan donut, or homemade scone, or what was that thing called that we randomly walked by and HAD TO BUY? … you’ve wasted a trip, you can go ahead and un-friend me on FB now… because we have nothing in common.

In the We are SO MUCH COOLER than you COULD POSSIBLY KNOW category:

~ We ran into Bart Yasso on the street on Friday, and he recognized us.

~ The next morning, we went to the Lululemon shake out run, and ran into Bart again…  he and I had a really entertaining exchange pre-run.... and T's (and now my) friends apparently stood there going, "wait, she really is Bart Yasso's BFF?  Seriously?  That's not a joke?"

~ Apparently Bart must’ve enjoyed my company, because he ran with me for most of the 3 mile run, despite my pace variations that had me alternating between leading the pack & hanging with the crowd….  Who knew?

~ But the COOLEST thing is that T & I went to San Fran as a “couple”… and ended up having friends to hang out with on Saturday morning, friends to bond with over city driving, friends to hit the expo with… yeah, right?  We're like THAT.  Friends to run with on race day.  Friends to give high fives as we passed on the out and back at the bridge.  And after all that, it was not weird that we ended up having post race brunch with about 16 amazing women.  Right?  RIGHT?

Yeah, we arrived 3000 miles from home...  to discover we have a posse wherever we go.

In the Random Thoughts About San Fran category:

~ I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco.  I did leave my 2XL Swamp Lager Beer sweatshirt though.  I decided the mojo in that sweatshirt might not be good.

~ I thought about my friend Lion about 20 times a day in San Fran...  not sure, well, I would guess I know why... but we'll pretend I'm not sure why...  Anyway, about the time I was thinking of her, yet again, we passed Lion Street.  After that, I embraced my loneliness for Lion.

~ I walked around for an entire day in San Fran wearing an inside out 2XL Swamp Lager Beer Sweatshirt … looking quite homeless … because I wasn’t wearing a bra…  i.e. I rode the cable car without a bra.  I walked around the Ferry Building without a bra.  I went to brunch with a bunch of women without.a.bra.  I am the kind of person who sleeps in a bra, and wears 2 to run in… but it’s just how it went down.  Not freeing though, as one might think.  Chaffing though.  I may have scars to remember my weekend by.

~ T & I raced in our TEAM SPARKLE SKIRTS TRAVELING SKIRTS!  WE LOOKED ADORABLE.  But… you know… in San Fran… Sparkle skirts & tall socks are almost  too tame…

Rule the World, it's a RUNNERS WORLD!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have gathered that I am a fan of Run Like A Mother: The Book.  There are a few reasons for that, but I think one of the main ones is that I’m a longtime admirer of one of the authors, Sarah Bowen Shea.

Now, if SBS’s name rings a bell, that’s because she also writes for this little running publication called Runners World. 

So when SBS mentioned me by name on her & Dim’s blog as a “fashionista she admires”, I was beyond flattered.  (<--- understatement of century there)

Imagine my surprise then, when I woke up one day and realized that I was not only someone SBS admires for my fashion forward style, but also someone she wanted to interview for the feature article she was writing on running fashion, for Runners World!

True. Story.

Seriously ~ those of you who’ve known me for more than the last 15 years will get the humor.  Until 1994 I wore jeans and a sweatshirt or jean shorts and a t-shirt.  And that was it.  No dresses.  No blouses.  And getting me into a skirt?  Forget it.

But that was then, B.R.

This is now, A.R.

I wear a skirt everyday.  I’m known for it.  I often pair it with snazzy printed tall socks and some obnoxiously bright colored top to boot.  And once I’m dressed in the look that I’ve coined as “slightly naughty”, I head for a run, or to the gym, or for a ride.  

I am rarely without my runningskirts.com skirt.  

I’m also rarely without my Bestie, Tonia, of RacingwithBabes.  She’s the *SOCK runner that I admire.   A true Fastinista.

The look I love~

photo courtesy of Deb Harper.
And yeah, it's "slightly naughty", true?

So.

I’m being quoted in the August edition of Runners World.  

In the cover story.  

Written by an author I admire.  

Is this really my life?  

Oh yes, I think it is…  

And my bestie, T?  Well of course she’s modeling the look that I talk about.  Because really, if I’m going to be featured in Runners World Magazine, T’s going to be right there with me.

Together as always, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

*SOCK runner – Stylish and Obviously Completely Kicka$$ Runner

Muddy Buddy, not Bloody Buddy...

I just don't even know what to say.

The day started so well.  We were on time, had our bikes, socks, skirts to sacrifice.  

We were ready to RUN, have FUN, and GET MUDDY.  

I admit, I was totally looking forward to being COVERED in MUD at the end of the day with my GIRLFRIEND.  We're sexy as it is.... somehow a mud pit/post race hose down just seemed like a way to take it up to the next level.

Team Beer & Cupcakes... or is that Cupcakes & Beer?  

It didn't matter, we were mint and chocolate and ready to race...er, "run for fun".

Our corral went off without a hitch.  I rode out on the bike with full confidence that T would pass everyone on the run.  I held my own on the bike, and finished middle of the pack.  

Dude, did you know I can run?  I passed almost every female in our corral... and a lot of men too....

chic... chic... chic... chic...

I spent the entire run, "on your left!" up the hills, "on your left!" feeling strong... oh yes, totally GBA, plenty in the tank for the next leg of the race.

I kept waiting for her to pass me on the bike.  And as I got to the 2nd transition... I knew... 

Something was wrong.  

No buddy...  I thought, oh no, a flat tire.... and then Lady Em ran past and the look on her face said more than her words ever could.  "I saw her DOWN on the side of the course..." 

down as in, "down" and getting up, or as in DOWN?. 

Lady Em, "As in, she's not coming...."

I turned right then went to the EMT with his radio and said, "This is my Buddy's bib #, I need to know, is she OK?  Where she is?  How can we get me from here to her?"  EMT looked at me and said, "I'm about to take this guy here... want to ride?  I can try to find out about your buddy while we're driving?"  

So without real confirmation, I jumped onto the back of a gator type thing and rode out of the Muddy Buddy without a second thought. 

I always wondered what it would feel like to ride off the course with an EMT.  Would I be bummed that my race had gone to hell?  Would I worry about a DNF?  Would I...? would I...?

No.  I apparently won't give it a thought.  It's not important.  

I arrived at the ambulance right as they shut the doors.  I saw her sitting there, and they shut the door on my face.  The heavy sound rang in my heart.  I swear, the sound of the doors closing was physically painful.

"Where are you taking her?"

"St. Something Hospital."

OK.  So... I need to get my bike so I can get to St. Somthing.  And I jumped into another gator to get my bike off the course.

As we're riding to the bike the EMT kept saying, "I hid your bike, your bike is fine." and I kept saying "It doesn't matter, I can buy a new bike.  I am much more worried about my buddy."... to which he kept saying, "they're taking her to the hospital... but it's OK, your bike is fine..."

I picked up my bike, jumped on, and honestly, rode faster than I've probably ever ridden uphill in my life.  That was my workout today.  a 1 mile bike ride, a 1+ mile run, and 1 mile hard as you can sprint ride out.  Loaded bike in the JEEP in 2 seconds, and made it to the hospital before she was out of triage.

I'm a good friend though - don't worry.  I gave her my last cliff bar.  I took her photo for the blog.  I took OUR photo for the blog.  I was sad and held her hand.  And I felt helpless.  I tried to entertain her.  To offer words of encouragement.  To tell her the GOOD things that came out of the day.  To celebrate that she is OK...  even though she's not 100% OK, she's OK...

So tonight I'm exhausted.  And Sad.  

Sad that I could not make it better for T.  

Sad that I couldn't do anything to help with her pain at the hospital.  

Sad that she is broken (not "broken", go read her blog, I'm sure she'll update it).  

It was a sad day all around.  There was no mud on my shirt at the end of the race today.

There was blood on it though.  

T's blood.  

Yeah, it was like that.