What a weekend! Saturday I woke up in Wanganui, New Zealand at about 1:30 a.m. and with my body so far off schedule, there was no getting back to sleep. The marathon was tough, I didn't have a particularly good run, but I did stay strong all day.
A quick shower and trip to the airport, arriving in plenty of time for my 1:00 p.m. flight to Auckland. Then an overnight flight took us back to Friday for a little bit before starting Saturday all over again. Dr. William Tan and I are now travelling companions for the last three marathons. He will set the world record for doing the same thing I'm doing, but in a wheelchair.
Santiago, and my secret weapon--one of my best friends, Paul Ruesch (see Australian and Seoul from the previous record attempt) picked us up at the airport. He traded his smaller car for a Toyota Forerunner at Avis, and we loaded up all our stuff, including William's racing chair and headed for Viña del Mar for the Costa del Pacifico marathon.
We picked up our numbers, met Rodrigo, the race director, and went to the next room for a pasta dinner. Pasta, sauce, soft drinks. That was it, but it was free. We left William there and went over to our hotel where Paul had a small but comfortable room for us. We went out for a beer, then headed back and called it a night.
Marathon #6
We got up early and had breakfast and went back to the headquarters hotel to catch the shuttle to the starting line, about 30 miles away. Got William loaded on the same bus with us, started talking to Diana, a pretty young Irish girl who had been travelling around South America for a couple months. She ended up running the whole marathon with Paul and me.
The early marathon was pretty hilly, but none of the hills were especially steep. I was amazed at how good I felt, right from the start. Legs were a little sore, but not bad. It was a great day, overcast, comfortable temperature. We ran through the farm country, then past a big industrial area where mountains of coal were used at a power plant. The ash from the coal would go across the road to be used in cement. The sand in the area was used there in a big glass plant we ran by.
Paul would talk to everybody in Spanish as we went by them. We just talked the whole way, enjoying the day, enjoying the extra company. With about 18K to go, we turned along the coast and followed the ocean all the way to the finish line. At 33K or so, William sent me a text message telling us that he had finished. We continued on, picking off a runner or two along the way, all of us still running strong. At just past 32K there were "to go" distances painted on the road every half kilometer. We followed the countdown. Just before the 42K mark, I called Francine and put her on speaker phone so she hear us finish. YES! Six down, one to go! We met a couple of Diana's friends, and the five of us got a beer at a little bar right by the finish line and watched the rest of the people finish.
Now, we were about 8K from the hotels and couldn't find a taxi, but Paul managed to help a guy back out of a parking spot, and then negotiated a ride most of the way back for us. Then we walked a couple of blocks and caught a taxi. I'm sure that guy didn't appreciate how his car smelled after he had three sweaty, stinky runners in it, but we sure did appreciate the ride.
After we cleaned up, we went and picked up William for the ride back to Santiago. He and I landed in Punta Arenas at 12:30 this morning, and we're ready for number seven. Hopefully we get to the ice real soon. Today isn't looking too promising, but there is a possible window in the weather this evening.
Hello Ashley and Amber. I love you. (My grand daughters!) Love you too, Carly.
A quick shower and trip to the airport, arriving in plenty of time for my 1:00 p.m. flight to Auckland. Then an overnight flight took us back to Friday for a little bit before starting Saturday all over again. Dr. William Tan and I are now travelling companions for the last three marathons. He will set the world record for doing the same thing I'm doing, but in a wheelchair.
Santiago, and my secret weapon--one of my best friends, Paul Ruesch (see Australian and Seoul from the previous record attempt) picked us up at the airport. He traded his smaller car for a Toyota Forerunner at Avis, and we loaded up all our stuff, including William's racing chair and headed for Viña del Mar for the Costa del Pacifico marathon.
We picked up our numbers, met Rodrigo, the race director, and went to the next room for a pasta dinner. Pasta, sauce, soft drinks. That was it, but it was free. We left William there and went over to our hotel where Paul had a small but comfortable room for us. We went out for a beer, then headed back and called it a night.
Marathon #6
We got up early and had breakfast and went back to the headquarters hotel to catch the shuttle to the starting line, about 30 miles away. Got William loaded on the same bus with us, started talking to Diana, a pretty young Irish girl who had been travelling around South America for a couple months. She ended up running the whole marathon with Paul and me.
The early marathon was pretty hilly, but none of the hills were especially steep. I was amazed at how good I felt, right from the start. Legs were a little sore, but not bad. It was a great day, overcast, comfortable temperature. We ran through the farm country, then past a big industrial area where mountains of coal were used at a power plant. The ash from the coal would go across the road to be used in cement. The sand in the area was used there in a big glass plant we ran by.
Paul would talk to everybody in Spanish as we went by them. We just talked the whole way, enjoying the day, enjoying the extra company. With about 18K to go, we turned along the coast and followed the ocean all the way to the finish line. At 33K or so, William sent me a text message telling us that he had finished. We continued on, picking off a runner or two along the way, all of us still running strong. At just past 32K there were "to go" distances painted on the road every half kilometer. We followed the countdown. Just before the 42K mark, I called Francine and put her on speaker phone so she hear us finish. YES! Six down, one to go! We met a couple of Diana's friends, and the five of us got a beer at a little bar right by the finish line and watched the rest of the people finish.
Now, we were about 8K from the hotels and couldn't find a taxi, but Paul managed to help a guy back out of a parking spot, and then negotiated a ride most of the way back for us. Then we walked a couple of blocks and caught a taxi. I'm sure that guy didn't appreciate how his car smelled after he had three sweaty, stinky runners in it, but we sure did appreciate the ride.
After we cleaned up, we went and picked up William for the ride back to Santiago. He and I landed in Punta Arenas at 12:30 this morning, and we're ready for number seven. Hopefully we get to the ice real soon. Today isn't looking too promising, but there is a possible window in the weather this evening.
Hello Ashley and Amber. I love you. (My grand daughters!) Love you too, Carly.
1 comment:
Ashley came home from school last week and tole me that Mrs. Modreske got ont "Grandpadon.com" and say all about your adventures. She was so excited to tell everyone, you might have to make it to show and tell day, when you get back. See you soon we are proud of you.
Love,
Tater and the Girls
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