How did I get here? That was a refrain throughout the long night’s journey into day that was this past weekend. Having landed in Spokane, I was struck by how relatively smoothly I got out of the airport. We were a little early in arriving so my rental car counter was still open. They were scheduled to close at 11 pm on weekends, a fact I didn’t realize until AFTER I had prepaid for my rental car. I was able to get their phone number and spoke to a very nice CSR by the name of Burt who promised he’d be there when I got in and wouldn’t leave me stranded. So it was a nice bonus that I was able to get to him just a little after 11 pm and he didn’t have to stay too late.
I had debated about having some diner food at midnight, with the dual intent of getting a few more bits of energy into me and having some place to go during the wee hours of the night. Originally I was going to hit a local place but their prices seemed a bit steep. Then I thought I’d just grab an Egg McMuffin but by the time I got to Macca’s they were only taking drive thru orders and I really wanted to just *be* some place and not just sit in my car. I ultimately wound up at a Denny’s. I can’t recall the last time I was at a Denny’s. It was certainly before I realized they are a restaurant AND 24 hour cocktail lounge in one. For the record, midnight happy hours were advertised as $5 Long Island Ice Teas. I went for a $6 breakfast with blueberry muffin pancakes.
There was a photo I wanted to get but I wasn’t able to snag it as I didn’t want to create a scene. The front lobby had a large sign that read: “Please wait for hostess to seat you.” Hostess… As in a woman’s place is behind the seating chart. Ironically a guy sat me…
They also had one of those Claw games, the kind popularized in Toy Story and that George Harrison song, “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You.” Three high school kids argued the finer strategies of grabbing a prize… Albeit they may have been college kids… Or maybe three dads out for a late night snack. I’m a terrible judge of age… But they seemed way younger than me… And I suppose A LOT of folks are way younger than me these days. They didn’t get the stuffed bunny I case you were wondering, despite feeding $3 in quarters into the machine.
From Denny’s, I made my way to the Idaho border. There a rest stop called my name and I pulled in for a few hours rest. It was far from a good idea. I climbed into the back seat of the never before known to me Ford Edge the rental car company gave me. I specifically rented a mid-size car assuming I’d try and get some shut eye before the race… It still only cost me $14.30 for the less than 24 hours I was going to have the thing. The best way to describe the Edge is that it was like a Las Vegas inspired mini-SUV. Bright lights, gaudy backlit displays, and inexplicable neon edging branding plates with serpentine font blaring “EDGE!” It was akin to a Detroit transplant’s vision of hipster tech… Which for my money translates into Tech-NO!
Here’s a few shots of the car I grabbed as I dropped it off after the race.
I needed to pick up my bib at 5 AM and the rest stop was about 10-15 minutes from McEuen Park, the start and finish of the race. After shivering through the 2.5 hours I had alotted for dozing, I made the drive into Coeur d’Alene.
The sun was already rising in the sky as I arrived a little before 5. I parked for free on the street adjacent to the large parking lot that was charging hourly. Visions of previous parking experiences danced through my hazy mind. I once stayed at a place in Kona, HI, called Uncle Billy’s. You could pay to park a car for $15 a day or they had a free lot “further afield.” That free lot was the same lot, just separated by a row of shrubbery… Not even full shrubs, there were paved walkways between the lots so really it was as if I was parking in the same lot. Branding and senses of exclusivity… Sometimes exclusivity is really just a means for charging you extra for the same thing.
But I digress. Coeur d’Alene was right on the water and was really quite beautiful. I overheard other runners saying they always thought of Idaho as potato country and this was most assuredly not potato country. The race team said the potatoes were mainly southern Idaho.
All told, it looked like there were going to be 350-ish marathoners and quite a few more half-marathoners running. I bumped into a few friends I’ve made along the way… I kept forgetting to get photos but a bit later on the course I did grab a quick selfie with fellow Mainlyner Deb Greene.
Side note – she did great today, smashing her PR by a wide margin. I need to ask her if she got a free kiss at the end. It WAS promised along the way.
The marathon course was a two loop out and back. Essentially you ran the same 6.55 miles four times, out and back and then out and back. Normally I would’ve preferred seeing a bit more of the area but when the area was as pretty as this, I didn’t mind seeing the same things over and over.
There were two substantial hills on the route… Made for a tough climb on the way out but a nice downhill on the way back. Still, I know I was vocally cursing the up hills.
A few choice highlights from the road:
A neighbor had spelled out well wishes using golf balls on their front lawn.
This intersection may be the greatest in the world. I originally only saw I was turning onto “Lost Ave” which seemed amusing enough… But when I realized I was on the corner of Lost and Dollar, well, I had to snap a photo.
The pacer for 3:30 came up on me in the last mile or two and said he thought the course was long so he was trying to make up some time. I had already budgeted my time and thought I was on pace but struggled to keep up with him. In the end, I crossed the finish line with a 3:28:34. According to the unofficial results, I was the 28th finisher and 4th in my age group.
When I checked on Monday morning however, I was listed as 17th overall and still 4th in my age group. Weird.
Because my flight out of Spokane was at 1:40 pm, I didn’t feel like I had a lot of time to spend at the post race festival or to sightsee around the area. The food options were a bit underwhelming but maybe that was for the best. I grabbed a bagel and some peanut butter and munched away as I tried to document a bit of the flavor of the finish.
Disappointingly, the money machine Golden Girls style “Grab That Dough!” Chamber was just blowing singles around like a perverted air snow globe WITHOUT any contestants trying to grab the dough. Kids seemed fascinated and I suppose so was I, but I would have greatly preferred seeing sweaty runners struggling to stuff George Washingtons into their running shorts.
As for the rest, well, I skipped the beer as I’m wont to do and the line to personalize one’s running shirt gratis was far too long. So I ducked into the resort bathroom, splashed some water on my face to get some of the caked on salt deposits off me, and changed into street clothes for the flight home. Good thing too… As when I got to the airport there was a mascot standee; how could I pass up a chance for getting artwork for a new buddy cop comedy, Eagle and Hanna? Eagle is a mascot framed for a crime he didn’t commit, leading to his expulsion from the Mascot Games; determined to clear his name and win the coveted Foam Cup, Eagle partners up with a down on his luck PI. Together, action takes flight!
No, that’s a terrible pitch. Call that a placeholder until I come up with something better.
In the meanwhile, I’m tapping this out on my iPad as yet again I sit on an airplane, winging my way to the next destination. It’s been a whirlwind and I can *almost* account for most of my time in the past 36 hours. Assuredly there were two marathons on foot and more than a few miles logged in the air.
Not a bad way to spend the weekend.
Editor’s Note: I’m headed on a long marathon tour so there may or may not be postings for the next few days. Much like Antarctica, I’ll write up the adventure but the prose may not get posted right away.