Shoup Airlines

A Journey

I AM a marathon runner! I think my fingers are the only part of my body that don’t ache right now. That may change as I type this. In previous runs I have had achy legs, feet, knees, etc., etc., but this pain goes to the core of my being. The best way I can correlate it is for you to imagine waking from a Jack and Coke bender. You know what I’m talking about, that hangover that just lingers and lingers playing jai-alai with your brain while standing directly in front of a Marhsall turned to 11 at a Tool concert. You getting an idea? This doesn’t even come close, and it’s getting worse as the evening progresses. My only concern? The stairs I have to climb at work tomorrow. Not funny!

First, the rants:

You, with AT LEAST $3.00 in change in your pocket, WHY?
You, on the first hill, quit cutting me off!!
You, wearing the 5 pounds of Ben Gay, you are making me light-headed!!
You, with the phone, whatever it is, IT CAN’T BE THAT IMPORTANT!!
You, why are you beeping like a time bomb?
You in the car, I’m RUNNING over heya!
You, handing out the beers, What the HELL is wrong with you?!
You, running event coordinator, WHERE THE FRELL WERE MY GELS!!

Now, the nods:

You, in the wheelchair, impressive, very impressive, man!
You, running barefoot, er, um, okay, whatever flips your cricket bat, man!
You, all of you that came out to cheer us on, THANK YOU!
You, random 4 year old boy that gave me five, you’ll never know how much that helped!
You, random 7 year old girl that gave me a COLD cup of Gatorade, I SOOO needed that.
Bib #1969, with those red pants, you gave me the motivation for the last seven miles. You single?
Mom and Tom, as always, for being there. Thank you.
You, who donated, both Angel and I cannot show enough gratitude.

So let’s recap the goals, shall we?

Basic Goals
Finish the Marathon 4:44:20
No dying Still alive last I checked…barely
Enjoy myself and have fun Definitely. When’s the next one? Helsinki? Athens?

Super Goals
Finish the Marathon under 4 hours…Maybe next time (It hurts saying next time)
Raise the stated amount of donations…Close, but no cigar
Make some new friends…Too busy trying not to die
No walking…The first time you get water up your nose at a waterstation, you’ll start walking too!

Über-Super Goals
Finish the Marathon under 3:45…See above
Raise over the stated amount of donations…See Above
Meet an attractive single woman on the course (like I said, über)…Again, like I said, ÜBER!

I couldn’t obviously complete all the goals or I wouldn’t have a reason to run another marathon! There are definitely things I’ll do different next time. We won’t even go into the shot of Nyquil last night. Stupid, stupid, stupid! It rained, it shined, it was cloudy, the wind blew, it was cold, it was hot. You gotta love Southern California. Time to stretch the legs AGAIN. More later.