Delaware Marathon Part One

Got on the plane Saturday morning and flew to Delaware. Quads were a little sore, right foot was a lot sore. Took some Aleve.

Cathy picked me up at the airport and we headed to Wilmington, and after some confusion with the GPS (apparently Wilmington actually has two streets named Delaware Avenue!) we arrived at the Sheraton, where they let us check in early. Pretty good for a race hotel, with self-parking for just $12, only a mile to the start of the race (and we needed to drive to avoid the slums), and a spacious, comfortable suite for $99.

The small expo was down at the park where the race started and finished. First we hit the Riverfront Market for lunch. Kind of like a food court with a vegetable market in the middle, and like much of Wilmington, seemed a little down on its heels.

At the expo/packet pickup, I purchased a nice black water-repellant cap from the New Balance shop selling race logo wear. I also bought a t-shirt that had the names of all the registered marathon runners on the back. Kinda silly because the first time I wash it you probably won't be able to read my name anymore. Cathy also bought a hat. Not too much else there, just that logo-wear shop and another vendor selling running attire. Oh, and a booth with some local personal trainers or something of no interest to us travellers.

In addition to our race t-shirts, which were New Balance technical tops but unfortunately for me in a man's size and cut, the race goody bags also included a souvenir beer glass and a sticker for your car window.

I needed sunscreen and vasoline and snacks and food for Sunday morning breakfast, and Cathy had forgotten to pack underwear. I decided the food court did not have good enough quality fruit, so we headed off in search of a mall or supermarket. Found a large, new Shop-Rite supermarket down along the riverfront area, where we were able to fulfill all our requirements. For snacks, we ended up with Pepperidge Farm Mint Milanos and Chips Ahoy cookies, along with a quart of skim milk. For breakfast, I got some bananas and some chocolate iced cake donuts.

Then it was back to the hotel where Cathy took a nap until it was time to head for the pasta dinner (she had been up until 4 am gambling in Atlantic City that morning before she picked me up).

Around 5:30, we headed to the pasta dinner, which was held at the Joe's Crab Shack, about a mile from the race start. Should have been a clue about the quality that they had chosen this as the restaurant. But the race organizers had made it sound like it would be a fun time. And how hard is it to serve up a decent plate of pasta and sauce?

I guess it was too hard for Joe's Crab Shack. Absolute worst pasta dinner I have ever attended. Just disgusting.

First problem was, we had expected that there would be a private room or section set off just for the runners, but in fact it seemed like they had us all mixed in with other people. We were seated outside, with two guys, a father and son who were also doing the race. The promised band was playing, a group of doctors from the local hospital (race sponsor), and it was impossible to have a conversation over the din of their "music."

While we were waiting impatiently for service, I suggested that we go somewhere else, but Cathy didn't agree, perhaps because we had already paid and would have to push to get our money back, or she didn't want to make a scene.

The guys sitting next to us were served first as they had been seated before us. Teeny little salads, but I wasn't expecting that much from the salad so was not too alarmed. But then their pasta arrived and it was cold! So they older guy sent his back.

They were having the marinara sauce, which is bad enough cold, but we had ordered the olive oil. The pasta was available with and without shrimp, and we went out on a limb and ordered the shrimp. We were of course expecting full-size shrimp. But no, we got just those tiny little prawns. And worse, in a luke warm and rancid tasting sauce. Not sure if it was even really olive oil. It was truly disgusting. So after eating a little and pushing it around on the plate, we said goodbye to the guys, wished them luck on the race, and got up and left.

On the way out, I stopped at the registration table and let the guy taking people's money know that it was the worst pasta dinner ever. Didn't try to get my money back because we had already eaten half of the food, but we did tell everyone waiting online that they would be better off going someplace else, and some of them did.

We ended up at a brew pub right next store, and got a table at the bar just in time to watch the Preakness, which was better anyway. This food was pretty good and didn't cost much more than we had already spent on the pasta dinner. I need to remember that few of those pasta dinners are really worth attending.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to watch a little bit of TV before going to bed early. I forgot that the Adidas Track Classic was on ESPN2, and I only got to catch a few minutes of it before bed.

Sunday morning, I got up at 4 am for my pre-race coffee and breakfast. Cathy got up at 5 and we headed down to the start around 6. Cathy had already decided that she was not going to do the half-marathon she was registered for, because she really was not trained for it. So she was mostly just there to support me, and she did an excellent job.

We had to drive to the start even though it was not that far from the hotel because the area in between the hotel and the riverfront is basically a slum. There was a race shuttle from the hotel but seating was limited, so they were encouraging people to drive. Plus the shuttle was leaving at 5:20 and that was too early for me. Everyone we had spoken to the day before had said that we should park over by the Joe's Crab Shack and walk from there, but I was skeptical because that was almost a mile away. So I suggested we drive down close the start and see what we found, and in fact there was a lot directly across the street from the start where we could park all day for $3.

We sat in the car until about 6:30---it was quite cold and a bit rainy---before we went over to the start area. I was wearing a throw away old cotton t-shirt and nylon anorak over a short-sleeved technical top and my CW-X capri tights. And of course, a hat---this time, the hat from my most recent marathon in Chickamauga because it was fairly water repellant and even matched my shirt (light gray).

Ducked into a portapotty where there was no line. Found out after that was because it was reserved for people with medical "issues." Cathy said this was okay because I am crazy and that counts as a medical issue!

Then we found a park bench where we could sit and wait for the race to start. There was dj playing upbeat tunes from the 80s, but otherwise it was all fairly low key. The race was full but they put a pretty low cap on it because I guess they wisely realize that the course will not accomodate a very large field. Most of the out of state runners are, like me, members of the 50 States Club or the Marathon Maniacs or both.

Just before the race was to start, of course the wind picked up and it started raining harder. I had ditched the throw away cotton shirt but had to keep the anorak. Ended up putting it on and taking it off throughout the race as we turned corners and faced headwinds and rain. It's really quite a mess, shredded on the bottom and at the cuffs, and now with some gigantic holes from one occasion when Zen got a hold of it. And at one point it got stuck in the zipper of my fanny pack and I yanked it out so now it is even worse. But it survived to come home with me again anyway.

I am getting tired and will finish this later.