Sunday, May 20, 2007

An Impressive Feat

Well, I'm impressed. Impressed with my very own husband - he ran a 100K yesterday - that's 62 miles, plus he got a little bonus in to bring it to 63. And he did it after hanging out at a party on Friday. But that's not what impressed me, no that was the fact that he got home, showered and came up to the hat party. Pretty good after a run, but wait! There's more! Then he danced! Eric is not one of those shy guys that won't dance, I can always get him out on the floor if the music is good. But I really, really did not think it would happen last night. We probably danced through about six songs - normally at this party, we'll spend a couple hours dancing, but I'm not going to complain after the miles he put in. I was mighty impressed. We got home about 11:00 and to bed about 11:30. Then we were on the road at 5:30 am, heading to Olympia to see our friends off at the marathon. I'm even more impressed! I'm married to a trail-running stud.

We got to the marathon and found Rick. He rode up with Patch, who brought his bike to ride along the course and see everyone. It wasn't too long till Hippo walked up, and then the Maniac I ran with in Vancouver, Marilou, and a few others. Shortly after that, Cat came walking up with her family. Today would be Cat's first marathon, and Rick's second marathon in a week (and the first one he was running without me!) Jane and Ray, who are going after four stars, joined us just before the start. After a lecture from the race director about using ipods (not allowed according to the USTAF and therefore, not allowed in this marathon. Using one is reason for disqualification), the cannon went off.

Eric and I walked over to Starbucks (of course) and sat for a few minutes. After finishing our coffee and tea, we decided breakfast sounded good - Eric was starving after yesterday - so we walked down to a little restaurant we'd been to before, only to discover it was closed for another hour. Back to Starbucks for a breakfast sandwich. We followed that up with...a nap in the car. Our seats fold down, so we cranked the heat for a few minutes, turned it off and went to sleep to the sound of the rain hitting the roof. After a nice nap we made yet another trip to Starbucks and then headed a block or so up from the finish line to cheer in the runners.

After about a half hour we looked up to see Jenny and her kids crossing the street to join us. Our friends Margaret and Susan both finished the half and joined us as well, and a while after that Patch and Lesa came. We ended up with a good sized Y Run Club cheering section. We were ringing cowbells for every Maniac we saw and for all the others we knew in the race. We got to see Hippo come in, and Van (who ran 65 miles yesterday at the same race as Eric), TP, and lots of others. We saw Rick and Cat coming from blocks away (isn't it amazing how you can recognize a friend simply by their running style?). We cheered like wild and rushed to the finish to see them. Rick officially qualified to become a Maniac today! And he had a PR time of 4:42:05...quite an improvement from the 5:45+ times he's had running with me. I told you he was fast! We left before Jane and Ray got in - we were sorry to miss them. We had a great morning at the marathon - though we thought we'd get out on the course and chose to nap instead (the consequences of partying and dancing), we had a relaxing morning and a great group lunch on the way home.

I spent part of time this evening studying up on my crew duties for WS100. I checked out the crew instructions and studied the map of the aid stations. I was worrying a bit about the night driving, but it looks much easier than the driving of CCC100. I'm not sure I get to go to quite as many aid stations as I did for Rob - there don't seem to be as many that are accessible. Some of them require hiking in or taking a shuttle in or both. Though most of the ones at CCC were accessible, not all were recommended. I went to them all anyway. CCC was a big loop, WS is a point-to-point. The race booklet actually has instructions for the option of one crew or two crews. Eric will just have one - Steve and I - so there are a few early aid stations we'll miss. I'll figure more out as we get closer, but for now I feel a little more settled about what to expect.

Signing off from the rain shadow of the Cascades, where the 100K runners are light on their feet, the cowbells are a-ringing and the rest weekend is over.

21 comments:

wendy said...

Michelle,

I love how supportive you and Eric are of each other, and all us Run Club groupies. =)

I hope you had a really nice rest weekend.

Olga said...

You guys know how to have fun:) Get REALLY excited now, it's about time!

Darrell said...

for some reason I'm not surprised that Eric danced the night away after running 63 miles. Being on the other side of a race can be alot of fun too.

Jack said...

Your mutual support is awesome! "...I'm married to a trail-running stud..." - there's no hiding your pride! You are a pretty awesome trail runner yourself.

Wes said...

Yes you are married to a trail stud :-) He's going to need to define his own maniac category! Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Sounds like a good one!

Anne said...

That is impressive that Eric had so much energy and muscle maneuvering after the long race. Wow, he sounds ready for Western States.

So, how many times did you visit that Starbucks?! The work crew must have thought you had a thing for them. And I agree with you about the current state of jogbras -- more show than support. Arghh.

Michelle Sarabia said...

So much for a weekend off.....Sounds like you were just as busy as if you had run a marathon yourself. I agree with the others. You and Eric give each other so much support...It is awsome.

Sarah Elaine said...

He runs AND he dances. You've got yourself a gem there, Michelle! I guess you could say he's good for the long run, eh? ;-)

runliarun said...

Maybe Eric wanted to surprise you. After all, you mentioned in your last post that you did not expect much dancing.

But then I believe that, party or not, music or not, you two dance all the time.

Donald said...

I'm interested to hear how your crewing logistics go, since I may have my wife do the same task next year. I figure we'll let you figure out all the things not to do first.

psbowe said...

I could use some of your energy...i debated on going and running the 5 miler at least but I didn't wake up in time. Glad to hear all great for you and Eric.

Unknown said...

Hmmm...sounds like both of you should have just gone ahead and ran Capitol City while you were at it. Rest is overrated.

Another party missed for me and another marathon as well. Can you tell I am sulking?

Randy - Maniac #788 said...

Michelle you provide some of the best race reports...even for those that you don't run in. That was awesome.
I'm also waaaayyy impressed with Eric and his weekend accomplishments.

Joe said...

For taking the weekend off, you sure got a lot done!!!

Anonymous said...

Michelle,

Oh, you two are just too cute. Between you speaking so kindly of him here and him dancing all night with you after a big day, you guys are super-sweet with each other.

Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan

Sarah said...

Nice weekend. I knew you'd have to get a marathon in...even if you weren't actually running it. : )

Gotta Run..... said...

LOVE STARBUCKS!!!

Both you and Eric amaze me everytime I read your blogs. Makes me want to push myself even more.

Adelyn said...

How great that you're so supportive of Eric and all of your running friends :)

Hope you enjoyed the 'off' weekend (even though you were still super busy!)

Anonymous said...

Wow your husband is quite impressive. BTW can he teach Tom how to dance.

Ryan said...

That is impressive!!!
Sounds like a nice weekend recuperating on the side lines and cheering on other runners!

Scott McMurtrey said...

i would say the dancing was the most impressive. :) i enjoy your blogs as always!