Race Report: Grandma's Marathon 2008...Part I

Wow. Where to start.

How 'bout the beginning?

Some of the run club was going to meet at a coffee shop in Roseville because we were going to ride up in...DA BUS.


Yes, it does say "Run Like You Stoled It" on the back


Sarah, Ruth, Val, Allison
Not pictured: Melissa and Randy

And Yes. This is really our ride. But the bus needed a little something to make it feel like "home"...so I donated my Plastic Dashboard Jesus.

So we piled into the bus, stuck Jesus to the dashboard, and began our journey to Duluth.

We sang. We danced. We hydrated. We stopped to use the restroom. We talked about running. Lather, rinse, repeat.

And before we knew it, we were in Duluth.

Allison's Inner Monologue: Holy Crap! I'm running a MARATHON tomorrow!!

We hit up the expo, picked up our packets and some souvenirs (including the Sweetest Pink Cowbell known to all mankind, a gift from Val) and went to our hotel/suite to unwind before dinner.


More Cowbell!

Another cool find - a rockin' triathlon sticker.


Get your mind out of the gutter!

We headed back to the expo for the pasta feed. We were sitting at our table and Jen spotted some Kenyans in the crowd and joking told Coach Ruth that she should go snag them. And of course, being the crazy spunky rock star that she is, Ruth hopped up and invited them to sit at our table.

Who could pass up the offer of sitting at a table with 10 women?? Not these guys.

Turns out, these weren't any Kenyans. We asked what their race goals were. The answer? THEY WANTED TO WIN. Like, for real. Win. The marathon. The whole freaking thing.


My brush with running fame...Cyprian, Coach Ruth, Me, Benson

They were Benson Cheruiyot and Cyprian Kiogora. Who I've never heard of. BUT. They ended up finishing 3rd and 9th. Yup. We had dinner with two top-10 finishers. Suh-weet!

We headed back to the expo to pick up some shirts that said "In My Mind I'm Kenyan"...inspired by our Kenyan friends.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get to bed early. We laid out our race gear, put the chips on our shoes, painted our nails (we're girls, after all) and attempted to make it an early night.

Allison's Inner Monologue: Holy Crap! I'm running a MARATHON tomorrow!!

It was a cruel joke that June 20th was the longest day of the year. It was still light out when I crawled into bed at 9:30. So I read US Weekly as I tried to unwind.

Project Go To Bed Early: FAIL

I couldn't fall asleep. I could hear laughter and merriment in the other room of our suite, so I went out to investigate. I was drawn in. We sat around and joked and laughed and traded stories and had a grand time. Until Coach Ruth popped out from the other room to scold us and to tell us to GET TO BED! So we wrapped it up and headed to bed.

Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep.

Can't sleep.

Oh, and also? I CAN'T SLEEP.

I tossed and turned. I fretted. I freaked out. I worried about my pace. I worried about the weather. I worried about my training. I didn't worry about my hydration, however. I knew I was, ahem, golden. Because I had to get up and pee several times. Oversharing? That's what I do best.

And the next thing I knew, it was 4am and time to get up for breakfast. My grand plan was to get up, eat a bagel, and go back to bed for 30 more minutes.

HA! Hahahahahah! What Was I Thinking? Like I'd be able to fall back asleep??

So I laid in bed with my bagel with peanut butter. And freaked out.

I decided it was pointless to stay in bed, so I got up and got ready.

I don't know where the time went, but the next thing I knew, it was time to go. I scrambled to grab my race belt and sweats bag, and we were out the door.

Grandma's Marathon is a 26 mile journey from Two Harbors to Duluth, so we had to be shuttled to the start. As we walked to the bus stop, I began freaking out in earnest. I forgot to pack a bottle of water or Powerade for the bus ride. I forgot my cell phone. I forgot to put sunblock on my face. I forgot chapstick.

Luckily, I had my four best gals with me, and they shared their sunblock, chapstick and Powerade. I love my gals.

While we waited for the bus, Ruth wrote "ALLY" down my left arm so my adoring fans would know who to cheer for. I had my "Team Roseville" tattoo on my right arm. I was ready to rock.

The bus arrived at the starting area. We piled off the bus and began to walk. We hit the port-a-potties. We had a team pow-wow. We tried to stay warm. We hit the port-a-potties again. We dropped off our sweats.

I started to cry. CRAP, man! I hadn't even started running and was getting all choked up.

This was happening. This was for real.

We walked toward the start line. I gave Karen a hug and she headed closer to the start. Val and I stuck together.

The gun went off.

Seven minutes and 47 seconds later, we crossed the start line.

We were off.

I was running a marathon.

This was my first marathon. You KNOW this is going to be a wordy recap. Part II, coming soon.