Patriot's Day Marathon

This is how badly I want Titanium.

Right after that Drag 'N' Fly torture fest, I drove 400 miles to southern California to get to my next marathon. I arrived a little bit after midnight and took a quick nap in a gas station parking lot by the beach. Mind you, my mode of transportation is a tiny Mini Cooper, so there isn't too much room to stretch out during my slumber. I set my iPhone alarm and 90 short minutes later, I abruptly woke up to the sound of ducks quacking. Why I chose this to be my alarm ring tone, I do not know.  Fortunately, The Chiweenie wasn't around when the iPhone went off or she'd try to attack the ducks in the box! I simulated my morning shower by splashing bottled water on my face, leapt out of the Mini-bago for the very early start, stretched a bit, and then crossed the starting line at 2am. Occasionally, I'd dose off during my 26.2 run, walk, crawl-a-thon on the beach, but after nearly 7 and a half hours, I crossed that finish line.  I then jumped back into the Mini-bago, took a one hour nap, and headed back home.

Yes, this is how badly I want Titanium.

Dark, dark, dark.

Hope I don't get arrested for being out here before the beach opens!

The first few hours of this race was mentally grueling. I've come to realize that I don't function well when I am in solitude. I am a people person and I like having human contact during a race. The other thing is that I had to be cognizant of was my surrounding. These Charlie Alewine races are not ultra events where I know there are other runners and aid stations out there in the middle of the night. I needed to be aware of any potential danger out there, whether it be a giant pot hole in the middle of the path that cannot be seen in the dark or a serial killer lurking in the sand dunes of Huntington Beach! Of course, the physical fatigue and exhaustion from sleep deprivation magnified these thoughts in my head. At 3am in the dark, serial killers ruled the beach! Thankfully, I made it through the wee hours of the morning without getting sliced and diced! Life got much better when all the runners showed up. I also got faster!

Yay! People!

In my delirious mind, each wooden board of this beach fence was a 3 foot serial killer waiting to fatally wound me with a big knife. That's what they looked like in the middle of the night!

Smiling for two reasons: I'm almost done! And I got a negative split!

So there you have it. This is what I will do to reach my Titanium goal. I really want this and I will not let anything stop me. People think I am insane for doing this, and I have to say that I agree with them! I guess that's why I am a Marathon Maniac.

Doh! How did Homer Simpson get on my medal? mmm...Chicken McNuggets. Marathon #36 done! Titanium score board: 29 down, 23 to go! Woo Hoo!