Ok, I'm home, groceries are here, it's pouring outside and I'm going to post this RR. We got to Niagara on Thursday evening, checked into the hotel, had dinner and went to bed. It's a good 8 hr drive from VT. Friday we did the sightseeing bit, the falls are beautiful. Went to the Expo in the afternoon and was very impressed with the expo since there were less than 4000 runners total, the full, the half, 10k and 5k. I couldn't pickup my package till Saturday since that's when the guys from immigration are there.
Saturday Jen and Lizzy arrived, we went to the Expo and Lizzy decided on the spur of the moment to run the 5k. She registered and was good to go. We bought stuff (one has to). Jen and Lizzy went sightseeing while Bill and I walked around some more. Then it was off to a mediocre Italian dinner (Craig, it was ceasar salad and fettucini alfredo with chicken) and then to bed. The weather didn't show a lot of promise, but the forecast was good.
Woke up Sunday morning and looked at a cloudless sky. YEAH!!! Had some breakfast, yogurt and granola, and at the civilized hour of 8 am, Bill took Jen and myself to Buffalo right to the start. And there was the best start a marathon could have. They opened the Alfred Knox art gallery for the marathon start and here were all these runners looking at magnificent artwork while a small band was playing salsa music and runners were dancing and warm, it was great. The start was at 10 am it was easy, not crowded and fun. It was cool but windy.
We ran for about 5m in Buffalo and then crossed the Peace Bridge into Canada. At the bottom of the bridge were immigration officers with ear pieces calling in bib numbers. You would have never known that you now were back in Canada. After a short run thru Port Erie we started on the run next to the Niagara river, don't ask me how many miles, I'd guess somewhere in vicinity of the next 17 miles, we looked out over the river at beautiful foliage. It was great, and it was still cool and here and there that wind really hit your face. I never took my long-sleeved tshirt off. At mile 13.1 when I hit the mat I looked at my time and saw 2:04 and some secs. I then thought that I might be able to PR. I kept up my pace for a while and when I saw Bill, he kept telling me I was doing great. BTW, he was at mile 6, 12, 18 and 24, with the famous yellow pompom. He is my rock and I look forward to seeing him. By mile 20 I thought I might actually BQ and that kept me going. At about mile 23 you could see the mist of the falls, a welcome sight. The last 1 or 2 miles were slightly down hill. Then over a short bridge and there was the finish. I looked at the time and I knew I had BQ'd. I was thrilled, I had PR'd by 27 minutes, and had come in first in my age group. (Not that there are that many in my age group, 3, but it felt great.) I got my medal and then another bigger one for being 1 in the age group.
As Jen said, the stars aligned just right, I wore my bracelet, I ran the race for my brother who passed away and whose birthday it was on that Sunday, and it felt great. You guys on the board were instrumental in keeping up my pace since I hoped to post a PR. We had a great Indian dinner after the race. It was great to see Jen again and to meet Lizzy. Lizzy is a wonderful young woman with limitless potential. She ran her 5k and was first in her age group. Jen has to be a proud mom.
