Hey, everyone! I'm home, recovering from the cold I caught, volunteering for the 1/2, I think. (It was cold if you weren't moving like you folks--go WISHers!).
First off, at the POP meet: I'm so happy to have met my family,
but wanted to apologize if I seemed distracted or flighty (or flightier than normal
). In case you didn't hear, my FIL was in the Celebration Health emergency room during the meet and DOOD and I didn't know exactly what was going on. My MIL kept calling DOOD with updates, but we were a little worried. Anyway, I know I kept scanning the meet to keep an eye on DOOD, trying to determine from his face if we needed to leave. If it seemed like I wasn't interested in talking to you, I'm sorry. Definitely not the case.
Oh, and was I the only one who found the POP meet overwhelming? Lots of people to meet and talk to, not enough time. I say we need a mini-meet before the big meet!
Corrina: Great picture of us. It was slightly chaotic, and DOOD had the camera, so I missed the opportunity to get a pic. And I really enjoyed eating with you (and Bryan, Jen, and Butch). One last thing, I'm so glad you "saved yourself for me" at the 1/2 water stop.
Everyone laughed so hard at that!
Nancy: Good seeing you at POP. And so great seeing you on the course, especially since that's where the going was really rough for us. (We were walking with Jackie's DH, who was experiencing bad cramping.)
Jen: Great to have dinner with you and Butch, and to learn that your last-minute childcare plans worked out. You did very well, I think, and the proof of that is that you're willing to go Goofy next year. ($285--yeesh!) Either that, or you're a bit obsessive. Just saying.....
OH, and yay for Butch!!!
Julie: You did great. I'm glad you didn't need to drop back with me, as I was the back of the back of the pack this year. But I'm selfishly sorry we didn't talk more at the POP meet (see above). No funny voices and hand gestures for you. (Consider yourself lucky.) It does sound like overhydration--same thing happened to me last year and made the last mile at Epcot pretty miserable. Jackie's DH ended up with Jackie and me, walking, for the last part of the course--bad leg cramps.
Mel: I was so very grateful to see you on the course.
Your timing was just perfect, along with the goodies. You, Vic, Anne, Susie, etc.,--so many WISHers I forget who was where when--just perfect.
I also enjoyed realizing your DD is a fantasy-novel reader. Silly, I know, but there it is. DOOD also really enjoyed his conversations with Jeff, and hopes he didn't say the wrong things after Jeff's marathon.
Jen: I was so glad that we met up early, before the official meet began. It helped me feel less overwhelmed by everything. Familiar faces, and you looked great. I think we have similar goals for 2009, too.
Maria: I suppose I should apologize for hugging you at the water stop, me being all sweaty and all. But I won't, because I missed you at POP dining experience. What? Our lovely pasta special didn't appeal to you?
Jeanne: I really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with you, as did DOOD. (He mentioned it several times.) Congrats to DD, the Greek, and DH, as well as to you. Jackie and I were planning on catching up with you permanently, and I think we could have under other circumstances, and were very impressed with your pacing. Next time I need to get in the same corral as you are.... And now I have an embarrassing question to ask you. How do you pronounce your name? I've heard three different people pronounce it differently, and now I'm insecure.
Robert and Linda: I know you don't often post here, but hope you lurk here. I just wanted you to know how inspiring it was to see you on the course. You looked great and were really booking it. I told Jackie that I didn't have what it took to catch up with you two, but you certainly inspired me to keep going!
As for me: Okay, just so you know, I'm very happy to have officially finished, strong and injury-free. The time was 6:58:34, and Jackie (MouseDogMom) and I finished in the same time. We really were the back of the pack. And it was party, party, party all the way! We took pictures, pet a donkey (how many marathons offer that opportunity), enjoyed our potty and blister-prevention breaks, and taked non-stop. I even ate so many goodies offered by scream teamers that I gained weight on the course.
Jackie's DH had some leg cramping issues, and so we ended up walking with him near the end and only left him behind to make sure we got our bling. (A girl's gotta have priorities, you know.)
There will be more stories later, of course, including the ones about the ILs, but nothing more important than our team's race reports. So let's hear them, folks.
ETA: Oh, and for those who are wondering: DOOD's time was 3:44 and change. I'm officially twice as slow as he is--and he can run faster than that! I don't know if I'm proud or envious!