Despite setting a new PW for a stand alone marathon, this was the most fun I've ever had running a marathon. But maybe it was the slower time that made it fun. Some other things that made it fun ....
- running through the streets of Paris!
- being called madame
- chatting with a handsome French man for a few miles
- being congratulated by another handsome French man at the end of the race
- finally figuring out people were calling my name at mile 13 :) "Allez, allez, Ray!"
The race did not start until 8:45am, and I had planned to get up at about 6:00 and we were going to leave the hotel at 7:00. However, I got a "wake up call" at 5:20. Not such a big deal, but I had also gotten a call at midnight. Not sure what they were about as I did not request a call and no one was on the line when I picked up. I slept well despite the calls, and I even had a good dream -- I was in a park, and there were several men all vying for my attention. They were all Latino, and because I live in Southern California, I assumed they were Mexican. Each man was sitting at a table and had a resume of sorts letting me know why he was the best man for me. All I had to do was pick the one I wanted. It wasn't an easy decision. So imagine my surprise when I went downstairs to have coffee and breakfast, and there were two Spanish men having coffee. And then those two turned in to nine. Yes, I had breakfast with nine Spanish men! Jeanine drank her 2 Red Bulls up in her room so it was just me :) It was a nice start to the morning, but nobody gave me their "resume."
It was cold, but I hadn't been able to find any news or weather report so I really didn't know what to expect. I decided to wear a long sleeve shirt, shorts, and a cap. They gave us a plastic bag at the expo, and I wore that for the first 2k or so of the race. There were moments were I felt a little chilly after that, but most of the time I was comfortable. I later found out that it was about 30 F at the start of the race. The worst part was the 45 minutes of waiting in the porta potty line after I had already turned in my sweats. I had to go so bad and the freezing temperatures were not helping at all.
The race was big -- over 30,000 runners, and I started at the back of the pack. It took about 15-20 minutes to get to the starting line. Even though I couldn't understand most of what was being said around me, everybody seemed to be having a good time. I met a few folks from the New York chapter of Team in Training. I ran several key miles with Libby who helped distract me from the pain. Thanks Libby! Water, oranges, bananas, and sugar cubes were offered at aid stations every 5k. I took water every time it was offered (in little plastic bottles, not cups), one orange slice, and 1 banana piece in addition to the 4 Gus I had brought. They only offered an energy drink once at about mile 18. Wine was offered twice late in the race, but I passed.
I don't have any pictures of the race, but they have video on the website. I was not able to see myself at the start, but I did find myself at the finish. I'm wearing a long sleeve pink shirt and a light blue cap. I do have vacation photos, and I'll post those soon.
