On friday evening we sat around the fire with mags & b & whisker biscuit and made our last calls to Ber who was laying in her hotel bed beneath an hourly chiming clock tower. We toasted luck with fireball, ate hot dogs and savored ice cream soaked in Abyss. I woke up, misread the cumulative results and felt this rush, standing in the bathroom, thinking Ber had obtained the OT, sleepily unsavvy about time change. I stood in there and felt great pride and a deep loneliness all at once. A new emotion. Slow on the uptake, and piling in the car with Nikki & Al on our way to Berry Dairy Days for the 10k, we realized the race was still in play, and hit Refresh with fervor. We were headed to get Nikki and Al a PR, big steps in their own journey's, yet, we were outside of that realm of self, outside of personal, and entirely involved in the hurt our friend and teammate was surely feeling on the pavements of Duluth.
In Burlington it was bright blue and full in heat. Berry Dairy Days is a weekend festival with strawberry shortcake booths, a carnival, fireworks, 5k, 10k & 1/2 marathon runs, a grand parade, bbq, and a classic car show. We warmed up, checked the results one last time, estimating Ber's finish time, and the three of us lined up together. The event was multi-layered in that Al's entire family: husband, mother and father would compete, Nikki would test the developing strength of her chronic issue, and I, would just hope the best for my pube & pace Al. Nikki & I tried to block the wind from Al, who ended up not only with a PR, but with 1st place. As we neared the finish line, I pulled out, and it felt awesome to. I loved not finishing. I loved it not being about me. I loved pacing. I loved that I did not need to worry about anything other than trying to make someone else's goal a reality. At the finish Nikki and Al held a formidable strength that I was proud of, like, they didn't look winded, and if they only knew how much more they could give, or have the capacity to give, they'd be as excited as I am. Tables held cartons of strawberries and boxes of animal cookies. We rushed to the car to get Ber's final results and to call her, to hear her voice and let her know how proud we were.
Amber Morrison finished Grandma's Marathon with a time of 2:46:59, a couple minute PR, with an admirable attitude. She turns another page, is a step closer and is about to develop upon her support team, which I'm really excited about. I'm more excited to have a training partner, with the same goal, in the same place in life, and hope that we are both healthy enough to help each other in the months leading up to February 13, 2016.
After we cooled down, we sat at a big wooden booth at the Trainwreck, which I've been meaning to experience for the longest time. Burritos the size of babies, bloody mary's with cheeseburgers, sausage balls, bacon and a garden contained within. We fed the bodies that did us well that day.
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