Joy: Day 22

On the one morning I would have the opportunity to sleep in, (for the forseeable future), I instead woke up around 6:30 a.m.  I was hungry and Ryan was (barely) up and about prepping for the race, so I decided to get dressed and join him.  I haven't ever gone through the morning pre-race routine with him.  Usually, the races start much earlier and Ryan has to be bussed to the starting line.  This time, the race started at 8 a.m. and the starting line (and consequently finish line) was right by the hotel.  It was fun to be with him before the race started! 

At about 7:45, Ryan headed over to the starting line and I headed to the on-site restaurant for breakfast.  (Ryan did share a bagel with me before that--I wouldn't have survived otherwise!)  I cannot even explain how nice it was to sit down, request breakfast, have it show up just how I wanted, and then eat uninterrupted. I didn't have to refill anyone's cereal bowl or drink of milk.  I didn't have to shovel in the food while reminding my children to get dressed, practice piano, or stop doing something.  In fact, I was the only customer in the restaurant until I was waiting for the check.  It was so peaceful.  I sent a few texts and read my Kindle while I ate.  It felt extremely indulgent!

After breakfast, I headed back to our room to blog a bit, watch some TV, shower, and finish packing the rest of our things.  Around 11:15, I took a load down to the car, came back and grabbed the last few things, then checked out.  I didn't anticipate seeing Ryan for about 25 more minutes, but decided to head to the finish line to watch and wait.

I sat in a grass median and watched (and cheered) as a few runners and walkers (from the other events) crossed the finish line.  I loved looking down the LONG stretch of road to see if I could see Ry.  Each time I saw a runner coming, I squinted to see the color of the clothes, then watched their gait.  As soon as I saw Ryan, I knew it was him.  I love that I can recognize my husband from a significant distance!  (Does that sound cheesy?  I just love that I know him so well that I can even recognize the way he walks.)  He crossed the finish line at 3:49:15, 4 minutes over his intended goal.  And I will just note here that I get choked up EVERY TIME I see him cross the finish line!  There is just something about watching someone successfully reach a goal--especially when you've been part of the process of reaching that goal.  When he finishes, I honestly feel like WE did it together.  (It's really a 90/10 split, with my end being the low number, but I still have a part in it!) :)

I joined him on the other side of the finish line and immediately started in on the questions: How was the race? How are you feeling? What can I get for you? What do you need? Where are we going now? How are your legs? Are you OK? Are you hungry? Eventually, after answering a few of the most pertinent questions, he said, as nicely as he could under pretty intense exhaustion, "No more questions." So, we walked in silence back to the conference room where the post-race food was being served.

Once there, he was visibly agitated and uncomfortable.  It was really hard for me to watch and not be able to somehow alleviate his discomfort.  He would grunt out, "water" and I'd hop up and retrieve a water bottle.  He also asked for oranges, so I brought a few and then within a minute or two, had to go get a LOT more. I also went to find bags of ice for him to put on his legs and handed him a dose of ibuprofen.  When he mentioned his arms were tingling and he was getting light-headed, I told him to put his head between his knees and started getting pretty worried.  I could just picture Mr. Doesn't-Like-to-Draw-Attention-to-Himself passing out and ending up with a LOT of attention.  I wasn't sure if I should wait it out or go find some medical help.  He quickly decided that laying down on the floor was his best option.

After a few minutes of laying down, he went to find the facilities.  When he came back, he had color in his cheeks again and I detected a trace of a smile.  From across the room, I mouthed, "Did you throw up?" To which he nodded in affirmation.  That seemed to be the turning point, because after that, he was much more his usual post-race self.  He settled onto the floor again for a few minutes and then decided he felt well enough to sit back in a chair again.  About this time, he also decided he was ready for a shower. 

On my way to the car to grab his things, I saw the guy we sat with at dinner the night before.  He asked how Ryan's race turned out--and when I told him Ry set a new PR and what his time was, the guy said, "That was a hell of a race." Apparently, this fellow has a PR of 3:47, which is fairly close to Ryan's.  In the Umatilla Marathon, however, he ran a 4:20--because, he explained, the course was killer.  So, really, I think that the way his description of the race was worded was quite accurate. 

In talking with Ryan later, he explained that a significant portion of the race was on an unpaved trail where there was a lot of gravel.  Although he did a little training on unpaved trails, he knew that trail running decreased his goal pace.  With your feet sinking a little into the gravel and not being a solid surface to push back from, I can see how that would be the case.  That was the major factor in the difficulty of this particular race and wore Ryan out earlier than usual.  Knowing all of that makes it even MORE impressive that he was only 4 minutes off his goal time!

After a shower and grabbing some food to go, (there was a potato bar set up--and the Oregon potatoes they served were quite good!), we set off for home around 2 p.m.  (I drove.)  Ryan and I have often joked that when we go on dates, we run out of conversation after 15 minutes.  Our theory is that we're so used to being interrupted and having to start again on our train of thought that it takes all evening to have 15 minutes worth of conversation.  But, we turned the radio down and talked to each other ALL THE WAY HOME from Umatilla, (which I learned that day is pronounced "yoo-ma-TILL-uh," not "oo-ma-TEE-uh," as I had been pronouncing it).  It was a 3 1/2 hour drive and we didn't hurt for topics of conversation the entire time.

Upon arriving home, our children each clamored for our attention.  Well, I walked in and as soon as Clayton saw me, he said, "Daddy!  Daddy!"  He wanted nothing to do with me and everything to do with Ryan.  I loved that he was so excited to see his dad!

We ended the day by going to dinner as a family.  It was fun, but MAN. Was I exhausted!  After two days with no naps and getting up early, my body was DONE.  Our time away was wonderful.  But, it was nice to be back home in my own bed.

Other joys from the day:
Seeing the beautiful colors as we drove through central WA.
Making connections between Ryan's marathon experience and my pregnancy experience.
Sharing a pint of Ben and Jerry's with Ryan on the drive home.
Hearing all of my kids trying to talk to me at once. (This is not usually a joy...but it seemed novel after being gone.)