Marathon Saturday

Oh yes, another Saturday and another early wake up call for the family. I didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn for a run since all my running is over until tomorrow at the marathon. I needed a good night sleep last night because that is the most important amount of rest prior to the marathon. This is my 7th marathon and I have learned and continue to learn a great deal about running 26.2 miles. One of these things is the amount of sleep the night before the marathon is inconsequential but the amount of quality sleep two nights before is very consequential to a positive marathon. My last marathon in June I only got a few hours of sleep the night before but two nights before was very sound. Last night was a good night’s sleep and when my son made his usual 6:00 am arrival I was feeling very good.

While I am on the “things I have learned running marathons” subject the whole “carbo loading” thing is a bit overrated. The key again is two nights prior to the marathon for the carbo loading and last night I had a very large plate of whole wheat spaghetti with a large side of ciabatta bread. This beats loading up the night before and having an upset stomach at the start line so I have my rituals down and with a good night’s sleep under my belt I am off to a good start.

The early morning wake up call for the family was due to the start of my daughter’s softball game. She had yet another 9:00 am game which brings good news and bad news. The good news is this is my daughter’s last early Saturday game but next week my son has an early Saturday game. The family was out of bed and we also were getting ready for our trip to Long Beach for the marathon. I thought it would be much better if we could depart directly after my daughter’s softball game instead of coming home and going back out. I could see a big delay with this so we had everything ready this morning loading up the car.

We have traveled quite extensively as a family making two cross country trips via the minivan in the past two years. It would seem plausible that we can travel light but this is certainly NOT the case. We are only going for one night but we still had way too many bags, snacks and other assorted items but we were packed and ready to go after the softball game.

The softball game commenced against the team with the only coach in the league who takes the game way too seriously. This coach has such a reputation even the girls on my daughter’s team groaned when they realized who they were playing. This coach not only takes the game way too seriously there is a large amount of negative energy surrounding that coach. I could feel the energy when my daughter took the mound as the pitcher in the first inning. I found myself uncharacteristically loud with cheers as my daughter pitched. I know this was due to the fact that I wanted to see my daughter do well against this particular team.

My daughter didn’t have a great inning but she got through it. The game didn’t go particularly well for my daughter’s team as they had the “mercy rule” invoked losing 15-0. The opposing coach purposely scored the 15th run so my daughter’s team wouldn’t get a turn for a final at bat. This could be construed as “good” coaching but being an “instructional” league it was just “bad” judgment. My daughter also got slightly injured as she slid into home and she got kneeled on by the opposing catcher. She came off the field holding her left leg and crying. I think she was more upset the umpire called her out and she was really safe beating the throw and making a great slide under the catcher. However; she was called out and got kneeled on to boot. She iced the area and a few minutes later she was back to her normal self.

The game ended and we made the 80 mile drive to Long Beach and thankfully being a Saturday the traffic was very light. The last time we did this as a family was at the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon. That marathon wasn’t one of my best in terms of time as I didn’t prepare very well but the fact that I was with my family meant the world to me. Back in June I went to the San Diego Marathon by myself and it just wasn’t the same. I did well in terms of time but it was a lonely endeavor. Thankfully; today I am with my family and we resumed the normal routine for the marathon. We checked in to the hotel and headed over to the Expo to sign-in for the marathon. I do believe this is my wife’s favorite part of the marathon because she gets to shop without spending any money since there are many free samples from juices to protein bars to clothing apparel.

The Expo was very good and my wife does enjoy these events. The children were ready to go about 15 minutes before we completed everything so I had to placate them over this time frame. The children were great and walking around holding my son and daughter’s hands was everything to me. No matter what happens over the course of the 26.2 miles I know I have three incredibly important people waiting to greet me at the finish line. I know my daughter is rooting for a sub 3 hour and 20 minute time for me since I told her I would qualify for the Boston Marathon and she really wants to see the historical Boston. Yes, this is my goal but I know finishing and seeing my family is what matters most. Today we had a great day and I will take those miles one stride at a time!!!