Race #9

This weekend I realized that this big ole goofy world is really very small. I arrived at the Hartford airport Friday morning and headed to the bus stop to take the $1.25 bus into downtown versus the $42 taxi cab the hotel told me was the only option from the airport to downtown. There was another lady standing at the bus stop when I walked up. Of course, we struck up a conversation to determine if either of us was from Hartford and had taken this bus before. Negative to that but low and behold we found out we were both from Florida. Not only Florida but we were both from Sarasota and she was meeting up with about seven other people from Sarasota who were there to run the Hartford Marathon. What were the odds? We chatted about ourselves and low and behold, Donna L., my new BFF, is also retired. When she mentions she is retired from the US Postal Service, I immediately ask: “Do you know Bob and Grace G.?” “Bob and Grace?!?! I’ve known Bob long before he married Grace. In fact I even briefly worked for him.” Could the world get any smaller? Another obvious marathoner walked up to the bus stop with a Wisconsin sweatshirt on. I couldn’t help myself: “Where in Wisconsin are you from? I’ve got an Aunt in Sparta?” No, he wasn’t from Sparta and didn’t know her.

We all got on the bus and headed into downtown. The bus driver was extremely friendly and helpful. Both Donna and I wanted to get off at the last Downtown stop, you know why? We were staying at the same hotel! The bus driver ended up not only taking us to the stop we wanted, but took the bus out of service and took us to the door of our hotel. Kudos to the Hartford transit system.

Donna and I parted in the lobby with Donna planning to call me when the rest of her group arrived so we could all go over to the Xcel center and pick up our packets together. I got settled into my room and waited for Donna’s call. About 1:00pm she called to say the other people had arrived and they were gathering in the lobby. I headed down. As I was standing in the lobby waiting for the entire group to gather, I noticed a woman walking toward us. I knew her. We both pointed at each other and exclaimed “I know you!” and we did. Susan M. and I worked at Global Signal together!

What are the odds of all this happening? Craig B. said it sounded like an episode from the Twilight Zone!

I ended up having lunch and dinner with them and hopefully making a few more friends!

Susan, Mary, Gina, Donna, me, Robin and Paul – the Sarasota connection!

Now, let’s talk about the race. The race was connected to the Hartford Marathon. The 5K race started a few blocks away but had the same finish line as the “real” race. Race conditions were excellent, overcast with just a hint of periodic drizzle. With an 8:00 am start time the probability was low that the day would clear up before our race was completed. There were 957 runners in our race. I got to the start line about twenty minutes before start time so had time to scope out the competition and line up with the 10 minute milers. I decided I need to tell people I’m going to run at a 10 minute pace if I ever expect to achieve it. I did get ahead of the guy with a cane – I’m not exaggerating, there was actually a guy lined up with a bib number, D-tag and cane!

The race start was a bit chaotic, but that’s to be expected with a field of almost a thousand people. But I wasn’t expecting to have two ladies turn around right in front of me and start walking against the flow of traffic! I guess they must have realized this wasn’t the marathon! For the most part the course was flat with only gradual uphill climbs. I felt good going out and thought I had a nice pace so was pretty disappointed when I got to the one mile split and saw 11:07 displayed. I almost let myself get really bummed out and not even try to pick up the pace. At about this time I notice there was a gal with a green shirt that said “I love dirty water” on the back who was running at a pace that was just a bit faster than I was currently going. I decided I would keep up with her for as long as I could. I stayed with her through mile two and then passed her!! Yup, I got a second wind, got in the groove or not sure what, but for the last mile I actually felt better than the first and kept pushing myself to go faster. It paid off. I ended up with a PR of 32:53. That still isn’t a 10 minute pace but I’m getting closer.

I found the “I love dirty water” girl after the race and thanked her for pacing me.

Oh, about that cab fare from the airport. Fast forward to my checkout at the hotel. I politely told the desk clerk that a bus option did actually exists and maybe they should make a note of that so that when future guests call they can tell them about that option instead of just saying the only way to get to the hotel from the airport is via the rather expensive taxi option. The clerk thanked me but then pointed to a guy leaning on the counter and said he was the best cabbie in town and would only charge me $36. The light bulb went on; do you think someone’s getting a kickback?!?

Next up, the Great Gorilla Run in Denver, Colorado. I just found out that the course is actually 3.5 miles not 3.1. I'm anxious to see how this race goes - a longer course, full gorilla suit, cold weather and a mile of altitude.