my mom

my mom's latest marathon experience. her 3rd or 4th since turning 50:

Hooray! The weather was perfect---in the 50's, no wind (NO WIND!!), high clouds...Big Sur stretched up and on in a hundred shades of green, the ocean below calmly opened its fan of greens and blues (greens and blues...so much more than that! how to describe...??...impossible..). It was a perfect day, from the weather to the course to how I felt running along this incredible coastline...

The schedule:
Up at 3 AM; breakfast of grapenuts, soy milk, banana; hot shower; into race gear, optimistically donning shorts and t-shirt--I was right-- ; lots of Sportsglide everywhere there might be friction---toes, under bra straps and band--; Catch the bus at 4:30; hour drive to Big Sur in a school bus filled with nervous runners; full moon over the mountains and reflected in the ocean; pre-race coffee and connecting with friends; an inspiring pre-start including bagpipes, Star Spangled Banner, doves; and then an ominous start, as the START banner fell onto the runners and we had to duck underneath it.

Adrenaline, excitement, the thrill of hearing thousands of feet on the pavement; running beneath the redwoods; cool morning air; and settling into a comfortable pace...

a field of mooing cattle near Andrew Molera Park; the sun glinting through the clouds onto the Pt. Sur Lighthouse; muscling up the hills and swooping down the other side; happy runners, wonderful volunteers supplying us with water and Gatorade and Cliff Shots and cold sponges; friends and neighbors at each aid station; birds and wildflowers and ocean and mountains to entertain us in between the bands (harp, blues, jazz, drums, school concert bands, taiko drummers, howling coyote-men)..not many spectators, but WE were the spectators.

Hurricane Point not seeming as daunting as the race profile map, or the legends or warnings...but what a thrill to reach the top and see miles of coastline ahead...and the long long run down the other side...Bixby Bridge, a dog howling with its singing owner, grand piano amplified til its sound bounced back from the cliffs...

Nothing is this beautiful. Nothing could feel this good that's so hard to do!

Friends who ran from Carmel to meet me around mile 21 (thank you thank you Wendy, and Georgie, Debbi, Michael, Doug, Jim, Therese...)...belly dancers around Mile 23, just when I thought I couldn't make it another mile...that last awful hill..

and the artichoke fields, the bridge, my friends, Buzz, the finish line, more friends, the elation, the pride, the smile, the photos, the medal...

What a day. Join me next year?

26.2 miles! Yes!

cheryl (PS My time? 4 hours 25 minutes, 6 minutes faster than I ran it two years ago; Place? 12th in my division [women 50-55, 50 of us]; my satisfaction with the race, myself, the day? Off the charts)

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