ATB - 2008

[SNOWRUNNER]

Hey ya`all.. glad it`s over!!
  So.. was a warm day with a good head wind on the return, but it was a nice day.
 Traffic down was ok, and the chatter in the race mobile made things go fairly quick. Never in my days have i seen so much food in one vehicle.. man.. when you travel with these guys you will NEVER go hungry... The trip down was a great time...
  Sasd to say our bud Shannon was SOOOOO sick.. i drove for her .. let her rest...  So the shopping trip was ok.. haha.. nary a stone left unturned... must say that when a guy is in need he goes to the store that may , or probably will fill his need , see`s  his products, makes a choice and then vacate the store.. make room for the next guy... oooooh! nooo, it doesn`t work that way for girls.. in a way i feel sorry for them. For some reason the shop owners and major marketing schemes people have to captivate women , and bonbard them with multiple items.. most are almost the same anyway!!??
 so the stores use a "fly paper" type approach when it comes to shopping and women..
  But that`s ok.. cuz the smarter the schemes people get, the smarter the women get.. and my friends are no exception.
  They know by some kind of internal instinct ( checked their heads for atennas.. but nada ) .. they can separate and digest all of the shopping chaos and comercial craziness.. and come out with a new purse like Shannon did.
   Holy i saw purses for $175.00... how they do it i dont know... but they really can sniff out a deal.
    so.. back to running..
  Petra and Cathy did fabulous.. no kidding.. Met Petra at the hotel on my way down after getting cleaned up.. she looked tired but very much with it. She is such a strong runner. Then we saw Cathy.. looked like she never even ran.. asked her if she took her bike..
   but the girl of the day would have to be Shannon.
  The night before at the 3 hr dinner ( get them to explain that one) she looked like she was gonna fall into her pasta.
 Which acording to Cathy, that would of hurt cut the pasta was hard..
  Chalk white, red eyes and shaking like a leaf, she managed to eat then we went straight to the room. She was NOT doing very well at all. In the morning she was all sweaty and still skaking . She looked at me and said.. " i gave birth, raised kids on my own.  Quit smoking,    I have  ran a half and 2 25k`s... this is not gonna beat me.
   So i looked at her and said.. ok... went to Mc donalds, got us some coffee`s and got ready.
I was worried about her. But she had her coffee and put on her game face and off they went.
  for the life of me i dont know how she did it. How do you have the power to start??.. your body is fighting an invasion and your asking it to run 30k while it`s doing this... but she did it... i was shocked when she crossed the line. Cathy and Petra went nuts.. haha.. in a good way..
   that was the toughest thing that i have ever seen anybody do.  I would not of done it.. how do you run with a fever??
      Ahhh, but how do you go through child birth..
  If more guys would just shut up and REALLY listen to a good woman speak.. they really are incredible.
  As for me??.. naw... i missed my mark.. instead of knocking off 5 mins.. i added 5 from last year. HA.. the best part is that i really couldnt give a crap... the time really didnt mean that much after all.
      was a good run and one of the best days that i have ever had.
                     Dave.

[ShoppinShannon]

Dave!  You made me cry again!  Gosh, I just re-lived my finish again. 
Yes, it was an interesting weekend, certainly not like any other race weekend getaway.  As most of you know, I woke up Friday feeling real sick.  By Saturday morning, I was feverish, but had hoped it would pass.  Dave offered to drive which I was thankful for, so I could take medication.  There was loads of goodies in the van.  Peanut butter stuffed pretzels, fruit, cookies, chocolate, candies?on and on. I like traveling with you girls 
We got to the expo and Dave and I lucked into getting an ATB hat (they didn?t have too many).  The expo was good, I just wasn?t in the shopping mood, so when the opportunity came to get our room, I just wanted to go to sleep, so I napped, but when I got up, I was ready to do some purse shopping and I found one!  Yippee!  I do love shopping with Cathy and Petra, they find great deals everywhere they go.  So, that evening we met up with Sue, and her friends and went for dinner.  Let?s just say it was a nightmare.  Couldn?t believe the length of time we had to wait for food, someone to ask if we wanted anything to drink, missing orders, etc?it was one thing after another.  NEVER GO TO CAPRI?S when you are in Hamilton.  I could hardly wait to get back to the hotel and get a hot bath and go to bed.  By morning, I didn?t think I was going to run, but the thought of letting ATB slip through my fingers again just ate me up inside.  I got my stuff together with the help of the gang and headed out the door. With the aid of Sudafed, Tylonol 3, Cold F/X, Buckley and Sucrets I was off and running .  Cathy kept me company for the first 5K.  I know she was staying with me to keep an eye on me, but I did start feeling good at that point, I think it was the adrenaline (and drugs). After several times of telling Cathy I was good,  off she went, wow, she?s so strong. 
Being a first timer on the course, I tried to take everything in.  I love the crowds of people that come out and cheer us on.  I smiled and thanked them all.  The first 15K went by so quickly, but after that I don?t know what happened, my heart rate went up and my pace dropped.  I found breathing to be difficult.  I used my gel?s to soothe my throat.  Apparently Sue and the gang were cheering me on at the 15K mark, but I honestly do not remember seeing or hearing them, I feel so bad.  The horn went off at the swing bridge and that scared the heck out of me, it was so loud.  This guy was yelling at me " get off the bridge, a ship is coming".  I guess I was supposed to stop, but I've come so far, I didn't want to wait for a dang boat..  He honked again, so I ran like hell to the other end. Ooops. Sorry lift guy.
Wow, this is getting long, I better sum up.  Yes, hills were there, but I didn?t find it too bad except for the last one, which I did walk up. Thank you Stockdale road.  I saw the big C on the coliseum and it felt like it was forever till I got there, at least it was downhill, but the chilly headwind didn?t help much.  Finally, the end is near!!!!  I can see the entrance, and down the ramp I went then around the corner, oh my god, I saw me on the jumbo-tron and then I heard my name?..I cried like a baby (photo shot is gonna look aweful! Lol) Then my throat closed up and I was wheezing?the first aid lady stopped me and wanted to put an oxygen mask on me but then I heard Petra, Dave and Cathy and went over to them, gave them a hug!  (Thank you for being there for me)  Then I cried some more.  Wow, what a feeling.  I finished 14 minutes longer than what I wanted, but considering what was against me, at least I didn?t leave in an ambulance like I saw a few other go.
Oh ya, then we ran into this CFL hall of famer at Tim?s.  Too cool.
I wanted to say:  Great job Dave, I'm glad you enjoyed your run.  Way to go Petra, you are an inspiration,  wish I could of seen you finish, you were flying.  Thankyou Cathy, for keeping an eye on me, I'm sorry I slowed you down,  but I think you did awesome too considering you were working with your heart rate.
Now I'm trying to get better and put my focus towards the next race.
Thats my race report! *cough/spat/sniffle* got a tissue?

[Sandy]

Hell of a run Shannon.  You got that monkey off your back and proved there is NOTHING you can't do!  Congratulations.

Congratulations to everyone else as well, another ATB for the record books.

So are you going again next year?

[ShoppinShannon]

So are you going again next year?

Well, I certainly have time I can improve upon, hmmm?  could be worth the drive from Oklahoma.  Maybe.
If I was staying in Trenton, then I would say definitely!

[Sue]

Congratulations to Petra, Cathy and Dave for their great runs!  Shannon, I don't know how you did it but Dave is right you were the girl of the day!  Shannon at our 3 hour ordeal of a supper was not looking great at all.  We saw her again in the morning while we were on our way to the start and she looked so sick!  She was so determined she was not going to let being sick get the best of her!  We saw her again at the 15k relay exchange and she was so focused on her run that she didn't see or hear us cheering her on as she went by!  Congratulations on your race Shannon, you were amazing!
As for my group and the relay we had a blast! This was their  first ATB and they loved it!  They really liked the course, especially  Michelle and Lillian who did the second half.  We had decided that we were going to run together both teams, so Darlene,Judy and I ran the the first half.  The weather was perfect, a little cold at first but we soon warmed up. When we met up with Michelle and Lilian they were frozen as they had made them get off the bus about 40 min. before we got to them.  They too soon warmed up and really enjoyed the scenery of the second half!  We were happy with our finish of 3:41.  It was a great weekend!  I was a little disappointed with the expo, no ATB socks this year like Heather and Jane got last year and no caps left when we got there.  It was really nice seeing Cathy,Petra, Shannon and Dave for supper and before and after the race!  I would love to do the whole thing next year!  Oh-Oh  did I actually say that out loud!

[Jane]

I love race reports!  They are so emotional!!

All of you should be proud of your results on Sunday!  Even you Dave, who took five minutes longer than last year!  I heard that in general people's times were slower than last year's due to that wind.  Shannon, from your description of how you felt on Saturday and on Sunday morning, I don't know how you managed to even start, let alone finish the whole race!  You are amazing!!   Cathy, you always run, enjoy yourself and never look like it was hard at the end!  I wish I had been there to run with you!   And Petra, wow - a sub three hour ATB!  That is just awesome!!   

Sue, I am glad you enjoyed it again!  I hope you do run 30K next year.  I plan to be there!   I agree with your friends - the last half of the course is the best part!  Too bad you have to run 15K before you get there!   

Peanut butter filled pretzels?????  Let me guess who brought those!!!   

[Bill]

Great reports.  Congratulations to all of you.  I wish I could have been there with you, to enjoy all of your triumphs in person. 

Shannon I am glad that you made it through the race eventhough you were feeling lousy.  Jus goes to show no guts no glory, certainly not a quote that fits you.

Bill

[Janet]

Great race reports!  I had looked up results late Sunday, saw that you had all finished (quite respectable times too!) , and that Shopping Shannon managed to find a great purse (I too love purses even if I'm always leaving them behind), and add a small 30km run in there!  Way to go Shannon, you are now more than ready for anything a race throws your way!

[Sandy]

Sue what is Judy's last name?

[Sue]

Sandy, Judy's last name is Graham.  I  read your article this morning and thought it was wonderful, I was so proud of Shannon on Sunday!
Petra also had an amazing time as did Cathy and Dave!

[SNOWRUNNER]

Excellent write up Sandy...
 It was a windy run, and overall a tough one.. Shannon is a tough lady, and a very sick but happy one.
 I wanted to send my congrats to the relay ladies for their run. I didnt know thier team name so i didnt know where to find their times.So Sue,Michelle, Lillian and Judy ( whom i teased during the 5 hr supper hehe ) And Darlene.. congrats guys.. and maybe you will do the 30k next year??
                  cheers, Dave.. oh yeah Sue..  i`ll see you in Mississauga, im running the full. 

[Cathy]

It was truly a tear jerking article Sandy.  You didn't have to be there to feel the emotion.  Way to go Shannon.

I posted her finishing picture yesterday but there doesn't seem anyway to attach to articles as we used to.  And it doesn't show as a NEW item.  I was going to post and let Blizz know but just didn't get there.  I also have to reformat all my pictures as the normal sizes are too large for here it appears.  This and being on dial up is why my pictures never make it here.  It just takes too long and when they do get here they are lost in the zone awaiting someone to unexpectedly find them. ha ha

Anyways Shannon is in the photo's as well.  Awesome finishing picture Shannon.

[ShoppinShannon]

Oh you guy's...this is all too much.    Thank you all for your kind words.  Imagine my surprise when I logged in this evening to see an article about me.  But YOU guys are the real stars.  You are all my inspiration.  I'm just proud to be a part of this family.

[Cathy]

YEAH

[Cathy]

The group at Tim's in Whitby



Here we are with Terry Evanshen