My first DNF.
I woke up at 4:45 to eat and get on the road for my 2 hour trip up to New Jersey. I had my bag all packed, full tank of gas, everything ready to go. The only thing I needed to do was google the directions for GPS. Well, this is where waking up at 4:45 in the morning with no caffine is a downside. I didn't notice that the actual name of the town that this race is in. The name of the town is:
MOUNTAINSIDE!!!
Now, at 5am, it hasn't hit me yet that I am going to run 26.2 miles in a town called Mountainside. In fact, it doesn't register with me at all until I got to the race. I then thought "hmm, this probably isn't going to be very flat."
That was an understatement. 26.2 mile trail run, and lots and lots of ups and downs.
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| The starting line |
They have 4 different races going on.
a 10k
a 10 miler
a marathon
a 30 miler
The race for the marathoners starts with a 10k (6 mile-ish) small loop, and then two larger 10 mile loops. I got through the first 6 mile loop with no problem. All is well. I am feeling good, loving life, next 20 miles should be a piece of cake.
And then, I rolled my ankle at mile 8.
Now, there is a saying that. "If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it really make a sound?'....well, I wondered when I yelled "F**************************CK!" as loud as I could, and nobody was there to hear it, if it really happened.
I was able to run about another 5 miles or so, but it just hurt too much. I knew that I was going to have to stop at the end of this 10 mile loop. Sure enough, thats what I did. I made it 16 miles.
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| Nature Trail, MY ASS!!! |
So it is now about 12:30. I am limping to my car, feeling very defeated. It was an awful feeling. I had originally tried to make plans with my friend Chris, who just happens to live 20 miles away. I only get to see Chris about twice a year or so, so since I was in the area, I was going to drop by after the race. Unfortunately for me, he and his wife were going to a concert that night. As I was walking back to my car, I was thinking that on top of being defeated by the marathon, I am so close to my buddy and I am not going to be able to see him. I pull my phone out of my bag, and sure enough he left me a message. He knew I was doing the run, so I figured it was just a message wishing me good luck. When I listed to it, he said that his wife had to go to Long Island on a family emergency, and that he was actually home with his two sons. He wanted me to stop by after the race. This was such great news. My spirits were turned right around. I called him, said I had finished early cause I rolled my ankle, and I was on my way. I told him I needed four things from him:
Pizza
Beer
Ice Pack
a shower.
Needless to say, all of them were waiting for me when I got to his house.
I got to hang out with Chris for about 4 hours. It was fantastic. Watching him play Mr. Mom was truly a highlight of my year so far. His oldest son Alex had a bathroom incident that Chris had to clean up. His youngest son Will (a baby) threw up all over Chris when Chris was feeding him. I could not have been more pleased.
Thank you Chris for being a good friend, and for providing such entertainment. Watching you suffer is always a plus for me.
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| Chris and I in 99 |
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