I got up with the sun and haphazardly packed about every piece of warm gear I own which could possibly be suitable for cold weather cycling. It was game time at the Manchester marathon for Whirlaway Open team's shot at a New England Grand Prix Series win. I knew based on the entry list that it would take a serious effort and maybe some luck, but I wanted to be out there seeing everybody get after it nonetheless.
I parked at lake Massabesic where Newbould suggested we meet and cruised into town looking for the bearded man from Nottingham. I cruised onto Elm right as the opening ceremony was concluding and the runners were hearing their final commands. I rode up on the left side-sidewalk and headed toward the Verizon Wireless Arena and got a cool look at the start of the race as I cruised alongside everyone. Minutes later I connected with Brandon and we set off on a mission to keep everybody fueled and informed about how the race would progress.
We got to a number of good vantage points and it was pretty cool to see the pack running necessitated by the ridiculously cold and windy weather. The lead pack thinned to 3 pretty quickly and eventually 2 by mile 17. Brandon and I made sure everyone had their last Gu and then we cruised over to the footbridge crossing which I think is near the 23 mile marker. Soon we saw Jason Ayr rolling fast all alone and looking unstoppable. Jason had completely dropped the guy in second who looked like he was slowing down considerably as he came by. A minute or two later none other than Dan Vassallo came charging through and wanted to know how close he was. He was definitely gaining on 2nd place but probably not gaining more than a few seconds on Ayr.
We watched teammates and friends cruise by for the last time. The human brain is in an interesting place around mile 23 in a marathon. You go through phases of clarity followed by periods of complete delusion. Some of the comments I remember as they passed... "I'm getting too old for this ****", In response to do "what do you need, anything?", "Ugh... I need a gun..." and "Those last three miles were the worst of my entire life" -- I wonder what the next 3 felt like?
The scene at the finish was mostly jovial. I am so happy for so many runners that I won't go into detail about all of the great performances (it would take all day), nor will I delve into the controversy over the couple of lead runners who appear to have been misguided off course before finishing. Watching this marathon reminded me of the strength and determination and character required to compete well. After my DNF at Vermont I'm not yet itching to race the distance but I am definitely motivated to build fitness and see where it leads.
27 miles biked / NT
Monday:
12 miles / 6:50 pace over a nice and rolling route in Andover with the headlamp. Feels like winter is suddenly here.
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