Feeling much better now. The last few days on the ship, I came down with a cold, which seemed to hit its climax around Monday. Tuesday I got up for the marathon, but felt like crap. I knew it would be a long day, but hey, I've run marathons feeling worse than this.
We were bussed to the start in Tierra del Fuego National Park. It was BEAUTIFUL! Mountains surrounding us, freshly dusted with snow from the previous night. We took some pictures at the sign at the end of Route 3, a road which stretchs all the way from here to Alaska! National Guard soldiers set up tents for us to hang out in, and made us hot tea before the start.
The first 12K was spent inside the park, the most beautiful part of the course. We went up rolling hills, enjoying mountains and running through the forest. Nature at its finest. After leaving the park, we continued on gravel road for another 6K or so before getting onto pavement. Traffic picked up a little bit, but the mountains in the distance still provided us beautiful vistas as we headed toward Ushuaia. The wind picked up as we left the park and got closer to the water in town. At about 20K, we took a turn toward the airport, where the wind picked up SERIOUSLY! We did an out and back to the airport, on curving roads where the wind was rarely at our back. Most of the time it was either in our faces or blowing us sideways. I met Bruce as he hit the 25K aid station, and he yelled across the road at me, "I've never had water blow out of my glass before." Wind was blowing so hard that several people talked about kicking themselves in the ankles as the wind blew their legs when the picked them up. By the time I reached the end of the airport section, I was wiped out. I knew the next 17K was just going to be a slog to the finish.
I ran back and forth for a while with Tee and Richard. Finally I slowed down enough that they went on ahead. Several other friends passed me as I continued along the course. At 28K, we passed near enough to the finish line to hear the announcers, then turned east until nearly the 35K mark. The surface was paved, but we spent most of the time on the shoulder, which was hard, ungraded dirt/gravel. Finally, the turnaround and head back toward the finish. Only 7K to go. At around 39K, Tony Toledo caught up with me, and I worked to stay close to him, making the last part of the race a little faster than I had been going. We worked our way through the last few blocks on uneven sidewalks and through heavy traffic, finally coming into view of the finish. A final turn and we were headed a block to the finish. We finished, side by side, and for me, marathon #5 was in the books.
I met up with Tee, Irish Joe, Richard, and a couple others and we headed into town for some beer and cheeseburgers. After heading back to the hotel, I crashed for a while, partly savoring the finish, but mostly just getting some much needed recovery. Today, my legs are feeling pretty good, with only two more marathons to go.
We were bussed to the start in Tierra del Fuego National Park. It was BEAUTIFUL! Mountains surrounding us, freshly dusted with snow from the previous night. We took some pictures at the sign at the end of Route 3, a road which stretchs all the way from here to Alaska! National Guard soldiers set up tents for us to hang out in, and made us hot tea before the start.
The first 12K was spent inside the park, the most beautiful part of the course. We went up rolling hills, enjoying mountains and running through the forest. Nature at its finest. After leaving the park, we continued on gravel road for another 6K or so before getting onto pavement. Traffic picked up a little bit, but the mountains in the distance still provided us beautiful vistas as we headed toward Ushuaia. The wind picked up as we left the park and got closer to the water in town. At about 20K, we took a turn toward the airport, where the wind picked up SERIOUSLY! We did an out and back to the airport, on curving roads where the wind was rarely at our back. Most of the time it was either in our faces or blowing us sideways. I met Bruce as he hit the 25K aid station, and he yelled across the road at me, "I've never had water blow out of my glass before." Wind was blowing so hard that several people talked about kicking themselves in the ankles as the wind blew their legs when the picked them up. By the time I reached the end of the airport section, I was wiped out. I knew the next 17K was just going to be a slog to the finish.
I ran back and forth for a while with Tee and Richard. Finally I slowed down enough that they went on ahead. Several other friends passed me as I continued along the course. At 28K, we passed near enough to the finish line to hear the announcers, then turned east until nearly the 35K mark. The surface was paved, but we spent most of the time on the shoulder, which was hard, ungraded dirt/gravel. Finally, the turnaround and head back toward the finish. Only 7K to go. At around 39K, Tony Toledo caught up with me, and I worked to stay close to him, making the last part of the race a little faster than I had been going. We worked our way through the last few blocks on uneven sidewalks and through heavy traffic, finally coming into view of the finish. A final turn and we were headed a block to the finish. We finished, side by side, and for me, marathon #5 was in the books.
I met up with Tee, Irish Joe, Richard, and a couple others and we headed into town for some beer and cheeseburgers. After heading back to the hotel, I crashed for a while, partly savoring the finish, but mostly just getting some much needed recovery. Today, my legs are feeling pretty good, with only two more marathons to go.
2 comments:
Congrats Don! Glad you got some rest. You continue to inspire!
Keep it up Don, we'll have a beer when you get back and you can tell me all about it!
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