Checked into the Sheraton Hotel. (*side note: The day I found out we made in into the 1/2, I looked for hotel rooms, and the entire city was booked. Donna, with her unbelievable connections, was able to get us a room in the newly-opened Sheraton Hotel, located smack in downtown Duluth, thereby saving us from sleeping outside in a tent.
Took a hotel shuttle (driven by the friendly Scott, huge BB King fan) back to the convention center for a spaghetti dinner. Spent a few hours there eating, talking, etc. Met up with Meg and Joel (additional support). Walked along Lake Superior - lovely red sky in the evening.
Back at the hotel, set 8 alarms for the morning, just to be safe. (We each had a cell phone, plus a wake-up call from the front desk and Tim figured out how to set the TV.) Woke up at 4am, after getting a surprisingly decent couple hours of sleep. Showered, ate cereal, walked to Fitgers with Donna to catch the bus at 5am. Rode to the start, a wooded area along Lake Superior. Stretched, dropped off our sweat bags. At 6:30am, someone sang the National Anthem, the Blue Angels did a fly-by, and the run commenced!
Back at the hotel, set 8 alarms for the morning, just to be safe. (We each had a cell phone, plus a wake-up call from the front desk and Tim figured out how to set the TV.) Woke up at 4am, after getting a surprisingly decent couple hours of sleep. Showered, ate cereal, walked to Fitgers with Donna to catch the bus at 5am. Rode to the start, a wooded area along Lake Superior. Stretched, dropped off our sweat bags. At 6:30am, someone sang the National Anthem, the Blue Angels did a fly-by, and the run commenced!
We plugged along in the humid morning air, sun at our backs, with a gorgeous view of Lake Superior on our left. Saw Meg at the 8-mile mark (she rode her bike to cheer us on in the middle). It was hard to miss the enormous yellow pom-pons and the high-kicks!
Along the way we heard bagpipes, tubas, an accordion, and a whole lotta cow bell! Hundreds of people clapping and cheering. So cool. As we ran past our hotel, we saw Meg, Joel, Deena, and Tim yelling, holding up signs, etc. I finished with a chip time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 25 seconds, a pace of 10:24. It felt great. We got medallions and t-shirts. Here are some photos..
Donna & Jean
Donna & Jean
Joel, Jean, Meg
Deena, Donna, Tim
The Whole Gang!
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. Thanks to everyone for wishing me luck and giving me "power." I felt every bit of it! Special props to Donna for agreeing to run this thing with me, and to Meg, Joel, Deena, and Tim for their crazy support. You guys are the best!
8 comments:
Joel and I agree that it was our pleasure and great privilege to be out there cheering you on! You are so inspiring and I think you're awesome. Oh hey, we grabbed extra copies of the paper in Duluth today with your name in it (and Donna's too). CONGRATS again!! We love you!
Correction, Correction.......there were 9 alarms set, consisiting of: 6 Cell phones, 1 tv, 1 radio and 1 hotel phone call. Congrats on your fabulous run Jean, you're awesome baby, awesome!
I stand corrected. How could I forget the radio alarm?
Congratulations Jean, what an accomplishment!! I am very proud of you!! I am so glad you have such wonderful family and friends to cheer you on and support you!! YEAH JEAN!!!!
Congratulations Jean! You are such an inspiration!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is totally awesome! We are very proud of you in Roscoe. Are you going to take a well deserved break now or are you signed up for more?
Congrats Jean,
I know you were really nervous, but you did great!!! The Twin Cities Marathon next? You are truly an inspiration to those of us who were super content to run a mere 5K.
Hooray for the Beans!! Way to go! I just tried to call you. Are you out doing more running? We love you lots!
--Mamacita
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