I decided to do a non-race report. I wanted to give you an idea what it is like to be a spectator/supporter for our loveable runners.
Yawn…..well it was a really tough weekend folks. I mean really rough. I’m a little tired as I write this; I think it was from all the driving around we had to do today to keep up with those runners. Anyways, some of you don’t know but due to circumstances beyond my control (medical reasons) I had to miss out on the big race. Well, I didn’t really miss out on the experience…. other than the 30 Kilometer run everyone had to do! Was that why we were there? I was beginning to think we were there for the shopping and all that food. So, we started off on a wet Saturday morning, loaded the van with runners and Timmy’s. It wasn’t too far down the road when Cathy introduced us to the art of “truck-honkinâ€. You see, for those not familiar with this game, all you have to do is pull up along side of a big rig and make an action like you are pulling the big arm on the slot machine, and if you are lucky, the big rig will blow its’ horn!! We got one and boy 'o boy what a hoot. I couldn’t wait to pull up to the next big rig! After a few more failures we stopped encouraging the poor truck drivers and concentrated on the road. We got to our fabulous hotel and got premium parking out front. We headed straight to the expo. When we walked in, we were bombarded with the â€Vector cereal†pushers from hell. They were everywhere! I couldn’t even go to the washroom or even the sub shop without seeing one of them. I have enough Vector for my son and I for the entire week. So we got a lot of freebees and there were a few deals to be had, but not too much (remember, I'm shoppinhshannon and I like good deals) . Later on we went for a nice long walk through downtown Hamilton to find a special herb shop for Jane.
I think it was a heath food store. After that it was time for some marathon shopping at what they call a little mall. HOLY COW, it was big. The best part was, it was just across the street from the hotel. We really worked up an appetite and when we got back to our room, it was dinnertime.
We moved most of our furniture to the one room and Bill began cooking up a storm. There was homemade garlic bread, fettuccini Alfredo, and a vegetarian tomato sauce. Then there was dessert, chocolate chip cheesecake and some kind of brownie. Or was it fudge?
Did I mention there was wine? I was in charge of the wine.
Needless to say, we were all so full, no one felt like going to the pool. We just wanted to roll on the TP balls and go to bed.
Oh my! This is getting long and I haven’t even gotten to race day yet.
The morning came early; I woke to the pitter-patter of runner’s feet in the room. The ladies were figuring out what to wear, and what temperature it was outside. I just had to turn on my curling iron and get dressed. We went downstairs to the breakfast buffet and I carb loaded with waffles.lol Hey! I had a busy day ahead.
The gun went off and soon Adam, Bob, Donna and I were on our own, seeking the closest Tim Hortons.
Adam and I headed out to the halfway mark. Adam had this cool GPS thing with his laptop and we found the location and the gang!
Then we made our way back to the Coliseum and awaited the big finish. Sorry no pics, I had another use for my camera, read ahead.
I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. I must have been staring at the monitor for a solid 45 minutes when I finally saw them!
In my excitement, I accidentally clocked Bob with my camera when I should have been taking pictures, (sorry Bob). After everyone came in, we rushed to our hotel as we only had 20 minutes left till checkout.
Anyways, there is so much more that happened but I couldn’t fit it all in as I am falling asleep, but I just want to say, I had a wonderful time, even though I was just a observer. It was hard a few times, and I shed a few tears, but there was nothing better for me, then seeing you all cross that finish line. The best part about being a spectator, is knowing what to expect next year, because I’m going to be running it!
YOU are all so very special and I’m so very PROUD to be your spectator.
