TC10K

I got there 40 minutes early, peed in a porta potty, and sat on the curb between the 50 and 60 minute balloons, and watched the crowd thicken from empty street, to jam packed. I stood up with 5 minutes to spare, as the crowd cheered and surged forward. What is going on? Is this the start? I restarted my Nike+ since I hit it by accident, putting the sport band onto my upper arm. I wore a throwaway jacket, I'll miss you, jacket! I told it as I tossed it next to a tree and the cheering crowd started walking forward for real. Came over the crest of a little rise and got my first look at the mass in front of me. The avenue was a river of blue shirts, and there were a few hundred meters to walk to the start line. Trying not to think about all the people, I put my headphones on, and started shaking out my knees and ankles like everyone else that looked like they knew what they were doing there.
Finally I got to the timer pads, start line, and had trouble getting going, there were so many people! Just watching feet in front of me, hoping it would spread itself out, the were a lot of really slow runners to pass, that didn't seem right, it was annoying to stop and go, and deek and dodge. I'm laughing at myself, now, at how frustrated I got, since I AM a slow runner, I'm sure people had to pass me, too. I tried to just go gently on my ankles and knees, and go with the flow, and it worked out pretty well. It did hurt a couple times when I had to pull up and stop or dodge quickly, though. It was funny that at the beginning, everyone would cheer the musicians on the sidelines, but by the time we got to about 6k, no one was yay-ing anymore! haha!
It was rad to be able to see the fastest runners on the way back along the part of the course that loops along the ocean, as I was spacing out to the view. Everyone ahead of me started cheering, so I'm looking around, and whoosh! Right past me! Olympic runners in a tight pack of seven or eight wiry little men, FLYING! This race this year is a Boston Marathon qualifier, serious business if running is your job. I think that could have been my favorite part, my front row spot to the olympics right there...
The view was so good, I just looked out there at the ocean and mountains, used the left hand sidewalk, and breathed. Turns out that my ipod is calibrated about a fifty metres short of a km, which added up by the end. I walked three times? Four? Don't remember. I don't have much of a recollection of the whole thing, I was very present, enjoying the moment, the views, the different runners and watchers. I didn't take my usual mind notes. I saw a knight in the walking crew, as well as two gingerbread men, way ahead of me, they were moving fast! The last kilometre I danced. With my hands. And the finish line is a total blur.
It was overwhelming. It opened out, and I felt exposed to the crowd outside the barricades. I wanted to hide. There were so many people on the sidelines cheering! I turned my music up so that I wouldn't cry, and debated putting my long sleeved shirt back on, and before I knew it, I was running over the finish pad, looking up at the clock, 1:10...not too fuckin' bad for a girl who hates to run!
If some one took my picture, then I didn't see it, and I just kept on trucking through the gates out to the empty Saturday morning streets.
Feet up, bags packed, I even took a cool bath like the pdf. Paula sent me suggested, that was tough. My toe was all bloody! I didn't feel that! Haha!
Check out time now.
One down.
I did it.
Yay, me!

Just looked up my results: 5131st!
1:03:28 was my time.