Chick 2009 recap

The day before Mandie and I went up to Chickamauga to ride the course and have a fun day. We got to the motel before check-in time so we decided to ride up to Chat. Tenn and go shopping for some new filters for her camera. We found a camera store at the local Mall so we got it and headed back to the motel. We were able to go ahead and check in so we would not have to worry with that later on in the night. So we parked my truck and started getting our stuff out when I looked and

I COULD NOT FIND MY RUNNING BAG!!!!!!

By now I am seriously losing my mind. What am I going to do? I know I packed everything I needed. My shoes, my gels, my bib number belt, my shorts and shirt. Now what. I am going to have to go the store. OMG Not now I can not deal with this stress.

Then Mandie said "Why don't you call Tommy and see if he has left yet?" It is scary but she can be very smart sometimes. I called him and said ''"WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW". Luckily he was about 10 min from my house. I asked if he would go by and pick it up and he agreed so I called Mandie's g-mother and asked if she would get it out of our house and have it waiting for him to pick up. About 5 min. passed when she called back and said "I can't find it". Now I am totally losing my mind. Then Mandie goes and looks in the back of my truck under the clothes and low and behold what did she see but my bag. I hear her say "I found it, I did not look under the clothes". So all this panicking for nothing. By now I need a drink. I always try and put everything together before I go on a trip.

Now it is off to the course. We get there and the scenery was beautiful. We were riding the course to try and figure out which way it goes. I remembered some of it from last year. We even went up one of the monuments that was about 6 stories high and got some good photos. I will post them later when I find the card. The leaves were changing colors from rich reds to golden yellows. We even encountered some deer that were standing on the side of the road.

By now it was getting close to pick up time for the packets. So off went inside to pick up my stuff. There were 5 lines divided by the last name and I think 75% of every one's last name was between A-F. This gave me a chance to meet some new people. A man was standing in front of me saying this was his fist HM. He asked me if I was doing it and I told him I was doing the Marathon. At this point you could have pushed him over with a feather. He asked me if this was my first and I told him it was going to be my 6th which was funny because we were at the 6th cavalry museum. And no I did not plan it that way, it just happened. I love the expressions on someones face when they find out I run marathons. Yep 6'3" and 260 pounds. Pounding it out to the finish.

Now it was time to go to the next building to pick up our shirts. Why there were not in the packets was the big question. Then they did have enough people to help out so Mandie and myself help pass out shirts. It was pretty fun cause I got a chance to meet my fellow runners. It was now time to go the pasta dinner. We were in line with Kenny and Stef when were told that it was not all you could eat. And they were giving out SMALL portions. Were all kidding about going out and eating after dinner. At our table was Tommy, Mandie, Troy and Amy, Marcus and Teri, Kenny and Stef and FM. Everyone was discussing finishing times and I said all I want to do is get a Sub 6.

We left and headed back to the motel to sit in the lobby and have fun. FM, Kenny and Stef and myself sat around drinking coffee and eating all the cookies as quick as they would cook them. We were having fun telling jokes and watching other runners eat their pasta dinners. Some of them were smart and went to other places to get to-go orders. By now it was getting late so off to bed we went.

4:45 a.m. and it is time to get up. I already had place everything out so I would not have to think about it. We were checking out and stopped by the lobby for some goodies and out the door we went. We got to the race and parked and it was dark and cold. Priorities first, find the rest rooms. The stomach was now kicking into gear like normal. I kept asking Mandie what time it was cause I did not want to take my coat off until the last moment.

Well 10 minutes to go and I am ready. I went for a quick warm-up and stretched. Everyone was in line and BOOM, the canon was fired. Off we go. I was running with Stef at first until we had to split off. There were 3 different places were the HM and M split on the course. We were having fun at first, saw some deer walking around, saw a Marathon Maniac at one of the aid stations we ran with at MIBM race, and talked and had fun. Then it was off by myself. About 1 minute passed and I heard someone whistling. It was Kenny. He came up behind me and I told him he was about 1 minute in front of Stef. This was Kenny's first HM. I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was having some calf problems. I reminded him to have fun today and not go crazy. We ran back and forth for a couple of miles before we split off and then the lonely road hit. I was by myself with no one to talk to. Just me and the MP3. It was lonely. I came up on the half way at the clock said 2:40:45 and I was happy. I said I could run it in 5:30 with little training and I was ok with that for today was just a fun run day. At mile 17, a bomb went off. My right foot was bleeding from my toe nails rubbing the skin, my right knee was hurting and my left quad was cramping so I started to walk. I noticed a man about 1/4 mile in front of me so I decided that he was going to be my target. I kept seeing that white shirt, black shorts and white undershorts. I was not going to let him out of my site. I then saw a deer run in front of us. It was a 6 pointer with a broken time so that only 5 were showing. Lots of squirrels to talk to along the way.

Mile 18-22 LONG and PAINFUL. Lots of walking and stretching. I was craving a COKE and I asked the people at the water stops and they just kept saying "Water and Poweraide" At least one of them had a small bag of chips for me so I could get some salt. There were several people riding bikes with back packs helping us out with drinks and cracker/cookies. This was a first for me to see but it helped and I was thankful for it.

Mile 23 I met several people that wanted to talk. Debbie was running with me and she then took and off and said I am sure I will see ya again. I ran with another lady that told me that people don't talk to strangers but runners will tell other runners everything about there lives between mile markers. I laughed and agreed. So we talked for about a mile and then I met a man at mile 24 that was out pacing his 15 y/o son and his wife that were running their first marathons when he had calf problems. We walked for a few moments together when he told me that there was man he was trying to catch and pointed him out to me.

IT WAS THE SAME MAN I WAS TRYING TO CATCH

At mile 25 I asked him if he had anything left in him and he said no. I told him that I was going to try and catch him for the both of us. And I did it. Mile 25.5 I caught him and told him I was chasing him for 10 miles. I talked with him for a few minutes when I looked up and saw Debbie again. I thought I have to turn it on if I wanted to break a sub6 so I left my compition and never looked back. I came up on Debbie and she said that we had about 10 minutes to go and .3 miles to run. So off I went, crying from my legs cramping, my foot bleeding and my stomach about to blow up. I topped the hill to see Kenny cheering me on and Stef doing her victory dance in the road. I tried to dance too but I was catching more cramps. Down the home stretch and I turned around to see that the man was not running. I was going to beat him. YES another SUCKA in the books. Finish line in sight and it was now over with. The pain was worth it. It was not my best time on the books but I got a chance to see what the race was like from the back side of the event.

I found out that even though I was not in the front pack, I was still a Marathoner. It might not have been pretty but I FINISHED and that was all I wanted to do.