I've been up since about 4:15 this morning. This seems odd, considering it's a day off and sleeping in seems like a good idea. But, I was here:
In the last 26 hours, I've been to the Upper Peninsula TWICE (that's more than normal for a year). In the last two weeks, I've been to Gaylord or north three times. Whew!
Last year, I heard there was a Bridge Run. It was too late by that time for me to try to get into it and so I decided to pay attention for he 2013 run. So, back in the spring, my friend Dave and I signed up for the lottery. They choose 500 runners from everyone who enters the lottery.
The good news: I was chosen. The bad news: Dave was not. And we found out while basically sitting across from each other. Once I got the email, I had a couple of weeks to accept the invite, and I kept waffling on it. I didn't want to go by myself. I felt bad that I made it. I didn't want to pay the entire hotel expense (ugh, holiday weekend + tourist town = super high rate).
In the end, I sucked it up, turned in my form and check and made a hotel reservation. After that, I didn't think much about it until this last week.
When I was coming back to the Lower Peninsula last week, I was scoping out the Bridge and it's incline. Oof. Since then, it's been a cause of anxiety for me. I was already worried about running the entire length of the Bridge (one of the rules was no stopping and must run the whole thing). I still run/walk. I was going to try to run as much as possible and hope I wasn't last.
I scoped out the incline again last night when I was coming back from St. Ignace and started to freak out again. Now, mind you, it wasn't the height of the bridge, or the water underneath (though I can't swim, so you'd think I might freak out about that).
This morning, we got on the buses and crossed the Bridge. It was slow, since there were high winds and lots of buses heading across. They dropped us off and we went into the runners area where there were two Port-a-Johns - for 382 runners. Did I mention it was about 58 degrees and high winds next to the water?
So, I got in line for the toilet like a good runner, and froze my butt off there, even with a long sleeve shirt and my capris on (so glad I went that route - almost wore shorts). Shortly after I was done (it was a bit warmer inside the bathroom), they started to get ready to send off the four wheelers that were participating. Just as we started to get ready to go, the Governor and Lt. Governor came over to greet us and help the runners get started.
See, the run is separate from the walk. This was the 10th year of the run, while the walk has been occurring since the 1950s. While the run had 382 runners, the walk had over 40,000 people.
The wheelers went off, then the state employees, and I ended up being in one of the first three groups (this was important, because it would mean I most likely wouldn't be last). As we were waiting, I was talking to a gentleman and two women next to me. This was his third time participating, and it was the first for most of us. I happened to mention that I wasn't concerned about the Bridge itself, but was freaking out about the incline for the first 2.5 miles. I was then told not to worry about it and the adrenaline would get me through.
Holy crap, who knew? I had the MOST horrible run yesterday. I didn't even finish my entire training distance (9 miles). I could barely breathe and was just SLOW. I was really unhappy afterward and didn't expect much from today's run.
I was wrong. And that incline that I've been freaking out about? It doesn't really seem like you're on much of an incline (even though it looks that way as you approach it). And running the whole thing? Ha! I wasn't the only person out there not running the whole thing! I kept waiting for one of the National Guard soldiers to tell me to get moving when I would stop to take a picture. Luckily, the two women that were nearby me before we started were stopping and taking photos and we had a lot of fun with it.
One thing I also forgot to mention that was freaking me out a little - we weren't allowed to have headphones due to traffic still being on the Bridge. What? I need music! I can't run without it!
LIE. Because this was one of the prettiest runs ever, I had no need for music. I was enjoying the entire length of the Bridge. I saw the sunrise near the Island, saw the beautiful water and waves crashing, stopped on the grates and took photos over the water below and just awed at the fact that I was RUNNING ON THE BRIDGE.
Why had I freaked out about this? It was so amazing. This is one of the coolest things I have ever done. And when I got done, I couldn't wait to do it again.
This was what I needed today. The view and awe of the fact I was doing something very few have done reminded me to have fun and enjoy the run.
Whether you walk or run, I highly suggest taking part in this Labor Day tradition in the future, if you haven't already. It's an amazingly well run event and I would have no doubt that the experience will stick with you forever.
Until then, here's a preview of the sunrise you may be lucky to see if you're willing to get out there before dawn in the future. Trust me, it's worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment