I left off yesterday with the sun beginning to come out.
And in case you didn’t read the first 3 parts, I’d forgotten my hat! That’s right. My forehead was exposed. I couldn’t just run in the sun like that. So, I slipped off my white tech shirt from under my t-shirt. Of course, now that means that my arms are exposed. Michael Jackson had it right when he sang, “You can’t win,” didn’t he?
As I was getting out the shirt to tie around my head, I happened across a medical booth with sunscreen calling my name right in front and center of their table. They let me use some. Oh golly did I lather it on. It was only SPF 15 (when I need about 150), so I really had to make sure I got myself good.
I wrapped my t-shirt around my head and went through the rest of the race looking like a total dorky thug.
When I got to the end, a volunteer placed the medal over my head. (I love when they do that instead of just handing it to you.) Since this was a wine country themed race, I also got a wine glass at the end.
This was cool for about 10 seconds, until I realized – wait a second. What are my transporting a wine glass logistics here? I have to get this all the way back to Los Angeles. (Somehow it did in fact make it back in one piece.)
After the race, I met back up with Wendy and Marty. (Wendy was way ahead of me. She set a new PR!)
Get this, they rented this cool convertible. My seat belt in the back was backward – I was sitting on the right side and buckled left to right (inside to outside). It was like we were in Europe! (I have no idea if cars are really like that in Europe. It’s just something I decided.) We cruised around town in style.
Wendy had to stop off at an outlet mall by the hotel, because her suitcase had broken. While there, I immediately bought a new hat so that I at least had one to get me home. We rode from Napa Valley to San Francisco with the top down. Ballin’.
(We even entered the car by jumping over the side of it at the outlet mall. I wasn’t the most successful with it. The car was tall! I am short…)
I had the best time with Wendy and Marty. We cracked up for most of the mini-road-trip. Marty lovingly (well, I’m gonna go ahead and think, and say, it was done with love) made fun the blog (’cause you know, he reads it(!))- making me sound mean for making fun of my sister (which I do gently and lovingly), and for accepting someone else’s medal at my first marathon (after the race ran out). (Come on, now. I didn’t want to turn down such kindness, and that person still got a medal, btw.)
We then talked about how Marty definitely did not read the blog with the right inflections – at which point we started laughing hysterically. Wendy and Marty started reciting things from the blog in wildly different inflections. Sometimes they made things fit perfectly the way I imagine them. Sometimes they acted super duper sarcastic – making it sound as though every time I said something was joyous or lovely, it was actually the worst.
They had me cracking up. Hopefully they’re reading this knowing I had so much fun, not (super sarcastically) so much fun.
(And hopefully you all can imagine how hilarious this mockery was, even though you weren’t there, and you can’t hear me, and apparently I don’t write in a way that helps people understand my tone. Inflect that, Wendy and Marty!)
We got to the airport before you knew it. Of course, it broke my heart. I wish Wendy & Marty were at all my races, so I could just bask in their energy and loveliness.
As I went through security, I continued straight up carrying a wine glass, since I had nothing safe to put it in. I thought this might pose some kind of problem, since it could easily become shards of glass. Or since I probably seemed to be a super lush, carrying a wine glass in my hand at the airport. But no. No one cared about the wine glass. What they cared about was the medal that had a corkscrew on it! Oh, screw.
They asked what it was. When I said it was my medal for a half marathon, they just let me right through. Huh, Well, then, okay. Thanks. I scurried away to the gate, and headed home.