That's exactly what we did. A bus full of us took a road trip from Saturday at noon until Sunday evening and hit up a race that was 5K, 10K and 23.6K. The big banner you see below stands for SEA BASS RUNNING CLUB. And only the elite of members (international even), know the meaning behind it. Besides, we wear cool "R U N" shirts, designed with fish, so what else matters really?
We arrived in this small Korean town Saturday, late evening and all stayed in a 'love motel,' that had all the basic amenities, except large towels! ha ha. However, we spent the evening going out for dinner and playing some good old cards (thanks Nanny for the Wizard card game!) and got a good night's rest before the big day.
The next day was full of excitement from the minute we got up. We met downstairs at 9:20 for a 10am start. We were pleasantly surprised to see the SBRC banner flying high with the others, and of course Korean music, fireworks and just general hype from the crowd. The 23.6 took off first, and it was loud and exciting. It was about K number 3 where it started to incline, but it started off in a small town. Deanna, Michelle and I decided to stay together and paced each other. We did end up power walking the tough parts, but it felt faster than running. There were few moments where I was like, heck, what am I doing? But for the most part, my mind was right on track where I wanted it to be. I was happy that my brain was gung-ho the whole time, because as soon as that goes down, it's hard to stay motivated. Deanna, Michelle and I chit chatted quite a bit, and counted each KM down as we reached a new point. Plus, the aid stations were FULL of excitement. They cheered and hit together plastic clapping things, and they made you feel like a pop-star. It was awesome. We finally came around the bend and saw the peak, a little temple looking area and the place where the mountain then descends ... finally! Deanna and I ran through the beep beep bars together, grabbed a drink and a banana and Michelle was right with us. From there it was downhill, but this time in a good way! The KMs came about quicker and quicker, and before you knew it we were under 5 and laughing. Of course the last K had a hill going up to the finish line, so we stuck it out together, holding hands. What a great feeling to have all of your friends at the finish line. And to know that you just did some kick ass thing with friends at your side.
2:57:17, which is all good because we broke 3 hours. With no real time goal, I was proud to finish feeling GREAT and energized still.
A few door prizes later (of rice, concentrated pear juice, herbs in a box and ginseng wine ...) we hit the road jack with a shower and some 'za in the bus. 4 hours turned into 6 hours with Sunday traffic into Seoul. But it was all worth it, what a great get-away!!
That's all she wrote.
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