We have had terrible storms in Denmark this last month, and 20 seconds into the race it started thundering all around us. The RD, Charley Proedel, had stated before the race that no matter how bad the lightning got, he wouldn't cancel. Still, when lightning struck a few hundred yards to the left, I was wondering whether the lead-out bike would pull over and seek cover.
He didn't, and I was able to stay in the lead the whole race. I started out slowly, hoping that we could get a little group going, but no one wanted to come with me. A number of the runners looked really fit, including a lean, mean triathlete.
My time was 1:19 something. I lost some time from starting really slowly and had a crisis at 12-16K as the storm came from straight ahead. Still, 1:19 is a little disappointing.
Here I am, confused about what to with the finish line tape. It didn't seem like it was something I could run through, so I stood there looking stupid. Stupid and lean as hell, you have to admit.
The Girl ran in 1:39 and won. Her hip hurts a little, but she is in great shape.
She checks her Garmin every 20 seconds, which drives me nuts. She looks like this when she runs intervals:
Life outside running is good. El Guapo is gaining a pound a week and is almost able to defend himself when Christian tries to kill him in various ways. The Girl's mother is here to help us out, which makes all the difference. The Girl continues to work part time, which is very unusual for Denmark. Most women take a year off, where they focus solely on being mothers. This may be more unique to Northern Europe/Scandinavia than I had previously realized. My cousin, an ambitious star biochemist, took a whole year off with both her boys, and apparently loved that life.
The Girl hates that life. She is thinking about going back to Wisconsin early, just so she can find a daycare that accepts babies. It probably won't come to that, though, and we'll have to use our baby-sitters a lot, so she doesn't go crazy.
This weekend, we are running "Skovloeberen", a trail race. I'll do the half marathon and the Girl does the full. It's pretty competitive, but top 3 or 5 should be doable.
2 comments:
You reminded me of my brother's first marathon, when there was a tornado and Don decided that hail, driving rain and a strong headwind wouldn't stop him and he'd get a better placing because of those who dropped. When he got to the finish line, I was the only one there; I had to contact the race director so that Don could get an "official" finish time.
That finish line tape does look a little too sturdy!
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