I Didn't Run So Why Am I So Tired?
Our Parrot Head Club partnered with the 1st Baptist Church to man a water station at the PF Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon on Sunday.
I know what you're thinking, Parrot Heads and Baptists? How could that possibly work? Surprisingly enough, really well. Our station was just past mile 20 on the route and very near the Baptists' church so they put us together last year and the Baptists even asked to be with us again. Some of them wore Hawaiian shirts this year...perhaps Parrotheadism is a virus of sorts that you can't help catch eventually. (Sugar Daddy must have a natural immunity since he still dislikes all music that's Buffett-like.)
The race people said the streets were going to be closed off at 7 so we all tried to get there between 6:30 and 6:45. What they didn't tell us was that they were going to have restricted traffic on every road to the race...I think the vast majority of us committed traffic violations to get where we needed to be. If the sign says No Left Turns, do U-Turns count?
A lot of the folks worked the race last year so we pretty much knew what to do. It's rush, rush, rush to fill up two layers of water or "Endurance" drink on the tables then it's a lot of wait, wait, wait for the runners. We had our PA system set up with Buffett playing...until Why Don't We Get Drunk came on when there was a rush to skip that one. Out of courtesy for our partners, mostly. The Parrot Head contingent worked the front "Endurance" tables and the front water tables while the Baptists worked the end water tables. We had our Tiki Bar Sign up to welcome the runners to the station and someone working the microphone to encourage the runners.
Yep, we finally found a good use for all of Crime Dog's hot air. It's about time he became useful. TFMCD was getting a little tired of everyone telling her how great he did...I mean his head can only get so big, but he was awesome. He read the names off of everyone's shirts and kept up a steady patter, "Welcome, Kevin from Idaho. Hey, Jenny, you're doing great, where are you from? Joe's a two fisted drinker, we like that in a person. Welcome to water station 14, remember to vote for the Arizona Parrot Heads and the 1st Baptist Church. Tell everyone what a great time you had here, come back again when you can spend some time with us..." The runners were really digging the attention.
I worked the "Endurance" drink table. It's a product from an official race sponsor but for some reason they want us to say "Endurance" instead of naming it. I'll tell you a little secret...the runners really don't like that stuff. Those who weren't dying and would have drunk anything at that point, were very specific. "Is that water?" I sent a bunch of people down the way to the water tables. Some folks would grab a cup of the mixed stuff, take one sip then throw the cup down.
We were fortunate to see a little race history made. Haile Gebrselassie broke the 1/2 marathon world record. He ran 13.1 miles in 58 minutes and 55 seconds. They had him run the second half of the full route to make it an official race so we got to see him come by. The guy didn't even look like he was sweating. The elite runners came soon after that and they, too, didn't look very tired even though they'd run 20 miles.
That makes me feel like a lazy loafer. I didn't do much more than move some tables, pour some water and hold my arm out with cups in my hand yet my shoulder and wrist are sore as hell and I was totally beat by the end of the day. I also picked up something, either from the brown cloud hanging over Phoenix, or am finally succumbing to the virus that's going around and ended up staying home from work yesterday. I'm loading up on Airborne and feel better today so hopefully, I've nipped it in the bud.
I know what you're thinking, Parrot Heads and Baptists? How could that possibly work? Surprisingly enough, really well. Our station was just past mile 20 on the route and very near the Baptists' church so they put us together last year and the Baptists even asked to be with us again. Some of them wore Hawaiian shirts this year...perhaps Parrotheadism is a virus of sorts that you can't help catch eventually. (Sugar Daddy must have a natural immunity since he still dislikes all music that's Buffett-like.)
The race people said the streets were going to be closed off at 7 so we all tried to get there between 6:30 and 6:45. What they didn't tell us was that they were going to have restricted traffic on every road to the race...I think the vast majority of us committed traffic violations to get where we needed to be. If the sign says No Left Turns, do U-Turns count?
A lot of the folks worked the race last year so we pretty much knew what to do. It's rush, rush, rush to fill up two layers of water or "Endurance" drink on the tables then it's a lot of wait, wait, wait for the runners. We had our PA system set up with Buffett playing...until Why Don't We Get Drunk came on when there was a rush to skip that one. Out of courtesy for our partners, mostly. The Parrot Head contingent worked the front "Endurance" tables and the front water tables while the Baptists worked the end water tables. We had our Tiki Bar Sign up to welcome the runners to the station and someone working the microphone to encourage the runners.
Yep, we finally found a good use for all of Crime Dog's hot air. It's about time he became useful. TFMCD was getting a little tired of everyone telling her how great he did...I mean his head can only get so big, but he was awesome. He read the names off of everyone's shirts and kept up a steady patter, "Welcome, Kevin from Idaho. Hey, Jenny, you're doing great, where are you from? Joe's a two fisted drinker, we like that in a person. Welcome to water station 14, remember to vote for the Arizona Parrot Heads and the 1st Baptist Church. Tell everyone what a great time you had here, come back again when you can spend some time with us..." The runners were really digging the attention.
I worked the "Endurance" drink table. It's a product from an official race sponsor but for some reason they want us to say "Endurance" instead of naming it. I'll tell you a little secret...the runners really don't like that stuff. Those who weren't dying and would have drunk anything at that point, were very specific. "Is that water?" I sent a bunch of people down the way to the water tables. Some folks would grab a cup of the mixed stuff, take one sip then throw the cup down.
We were fortunate to see a little race history made. Haile Gebrselassie broke the 1/2 marathon world record. He ran 13.1 miles in 58 minutes and 55 seconds. They had him run the second half of the full route to make it an official race so we got to see him come by. The guy didn't even look like he was sweating. The elite runners came soon after that and they, too, didn't look very tired even though they'd run 20 miles.
That makes me feel like a lazy loafer. I didn't do much more than move some tables, pour some water and hold my arm out with cups in my hand yet my shoulder and wrist are sore as hell and I was totally beat by the end of the day. I also picked up something, either from the brown cloud hanging over Phoenix, or am finally succumbing to the virus that's going around and ended up staying home from work yesterday. I'm loading up on Airborne and feel better today so hopefully, I've nipped it in the bud.
