Post Athens Marathon wrap up

To celebrate our run last night Dan, Rick and Tracey and another couple who joined us in Athens to watch the marathon - Brad and Carey went out for dinner. Dan and Brad had found a restaurant that played live Greek music earlier in the day.

We enjoyed ouzo before our meal and an interesting combination of Greek liqueurs after. A table of twenty something's were also at the restaurant. They danced to several of the Greek songs. They invited us to join them. Despite finishing her first marathon, Tracey was the only one who had the nerve to join them. And wow - that girl can dance!

Needless to say, it was a, rather slow morning for everyone. Tracey had found a vegetarian restaurant on line before we left Canada that we hadn't tried called Avocado. So we headed out to it for lunch. This is what I had with my lunch




Ginger beet juice - exactly what my liver needed today!

This restaurant was the perfect follow up to a week of eating Greek food in restaurants. I had read online before the trip that there were a lot a vegetarian options in Greek restaurants, but what I found was there were no "meals" and I ended up eating appetizers as my main dish. The only problem with ordering food that way was it tended to come out before everyone else's food. But I do have to say the Greek salads here were amazing.

This was our last day in Greece and the weather was very cold. We bundled up and walked around a bit, packed and now it's early to bed. Our wake up call is 4 am tomorrow before 12 hours worth of flying. It will be good to be home and see my girls.

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My Big Fat Greek Marathon - the Athens Marathon

We rose very earlier this morning and headed out in what the locals are referring to as January weather.




There were several buses waiting. They were warm and they had very cushy seats. The ride took about an hour to the stadium in Marathon. Once we arrived, we were able to wait inside the change rooms at the stadium. While we waited we were able to watch runners go through all of their pre race rituals. Interesting....

We lined up at the start line and I have to say that this start was the most organized start I've been in. Based on everyone's estimated finish time all runners were assigned a rank which was also printed on your bib. There were stern warnings of disqualification is runners went into the wrong rank. Each rank was divided by tape and runners were moved to the start in one minute intervals after the elites. This was awesome because it meant that there was no weaving around people who put themselves too close to the start.

This race was huge, but not congested. I did loose Rick and Tracey before 5k and didn't find them until the end of the race. I walked through every other water station but couldn't find them for all of the crowds. After 20k I stopped looking for them and settled into the race. I wasn't able to talk to too many other runners because not very many people spoke English. But I did focus on the scenery and the fact that I was runner somewhere close to the original marathon route.

The crowds were pretty sparse until 18k but then there were groups of people yelling "Bravo!". It was amazing. I had my usual adrenal rush as I ran the last kilometer into the stadium. As I ran onto the track I heard Dan yell my name. It was music to my ears. It was the first time I had heard a familiar voice in hours. I turned and ran backwards waving at him. Then I danced across the finish line! Thank god I didn't faceplant.

I think this is the way to run a marathon. It was my slowest time, but I feel amazing and it was the most fun I've had in s msrsthon. We're heading out for dinner soon. I hope the rolling streets go Athens are kind to my tired legs. Now for a few pics....




Me with my medal.



Panoramic view of the stadium.



Three happy runners!



Race shirt and medal. Oh look it's a white shirt.

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Pre marathon prep!

Well t minus 14 hours before the start of the race. My outfit is ready, my chip is on my shoe and my bib is pinned to my shirt. The weather is unseasonably cold today and will be tomorrow. I ended up returning to the expo and buying a long sleeve shirt to wear tomorrow. I hate being too cold.
After a much later and relaxed start to our day Dan and I headed out to the ancient agora. As I looked at the exhibits in the museum, I realized what a small piece of civilization we really are. I know this sounds so cliche, but I really feel as though that is the only way to describe what I have seen over the past few days. Here are a few pictures from today.




Coffee in thisso this morning.





Lunch in monastriraki

I did do more than eat today - here are some shots from the expo

















Until tomorrow!

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Bringing you up to speed in Greece

I haven't been able to post for a few days because of a hiccup with my blogging app, but everything seems to be ok for now.

On Tuesday we didn't go to Hydra as we had originally planned due to a later start than we had expected and a change in the ferry schedule. We ended up walking around Athens and went to the acropolis to see the Parthenon and the ruins of various temples. There is also a stunning view of the city of Athens from the top. We toured around the Plaka district and ate lunch on a great patio that had an amazing view





Not just the cute elderly couple, but this...









And of course We needed to rehydrate - there is water on the table too.

On Wednesday we did get up early. The owner of the hotel we're staying at - Hotel Tony arranged for a friend of his to take us to Piarrius to catch the hydrafolye to Hydra. The boat ride was about an hour and a half. When we got to the island, we just walked around. Athens and the islands in Greece have stray dogs that are taken care of by everyone.
Dan and I were adopted by a dog named Troufa. She gave us a wonderful tour of the village leading us through the winding pathways to an amazing view. When we found ourselve as far as we could walk,just sat and took the whole thing in. We wound our way back down to the water and I dipped my toes in the agean sea. Rick actually swam. Here's some shots from the harbor.











After we got back from Hydra, we went straight to the expo to pick up our race kits. The expo was very well organized, but there weren't very many deal on gear and their souvenir shirts seemed pretty pricey. So I didn't buy anything extra.

Today we went to Delphi which was a very long day, but again filled with amazing sights. I didn't bring my iPad so I won't have pictures to post until next week... but you won't be disappointed.

After two and a half days a hustle we are going to slow down and just tour around. Not too much though I need to rest up for something I have going on on Sunday.

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Live From Athens - its Tuesday night!

After 14 hours of travel we arrived at our hotel in Athens around 2pm. We freshened up and skyped the girls before heading out to see some of the sites in the city. We were also trying to not fall asleep after being up for over 24 hours. It's my goal to stay awake until 8 pm tonight ( I have 45 minutes to go). Then I will go to bed and hopefully reset my body clock.

We're staying at a newly boutique hotel that we booked months ago for an awesome price. It is prett basic but it has a fridge and kettle so I can keep my water cold and have tea. Whoever said Europeans are more laid back than North Americans has never experienced a cab ride in Athens - wow! Stop signs are merely a suggestion. Despite the crazy driving which is really no secret, this city has a funky vibe. My blogging was interrupted earlier to listen to some guy playing an accordion down the street and playing it well I might add.

Here are a few shots from my balcony this afternoon. There will be much better pictures next week.
















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Flying out to Rome then onto Athens

We are just about the board the plane to head out across the Atlantic. It's funny the whole switching time zones and how we basically lose a day. It's one of those thought things that makes my head feel spiny.

We've been at the airport for almost four hours now and will be on the plane for 8 then switching planes and another 2 hours to Athens. When we land in Athens it will be 12 noon on Tuesday. So far everything has gone smoothly the only bummer I didn't preorder my vegetarian meal soon enough so I'll have to cross my fingers and hope for the best.




Dan was the professional photographer for this shot. We all had posed three times for this shot.

We just found out our flight has been delayed by 20 minutes. Looks like we'll get a speed workout in Rome! See you on the other side!

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Location:Pearson Airport

Road 2 Hope

So I'm sure you're all wondering how did it go?  Well there's good news and bad news.  I'll give you the good news first since I consider myself an optimist.  The first - I set a 10k p.b. with a time of 50:33.  The bad news... I couldn't keep that pace... no where near it. 

My overall time was 1:55.  I flew down the parkway at the start of the race, then when I went over the overpass pain, pessimism and negative self talk ran with me for the next 8k.  No matter what I did, I couldn't shake them.  I have no excuses for not running my goal time.  The weather was perfect, the course was fast and I was trained out the wazoo.  This time was a result of not flowing with the race.

But I have no time for regrets or anything of the sort.  Tomorrow morning we head out for Greece.  I'm going to try to post throughout the trip with a photo extravaganza once I return.

Now back to the Road 2 Hope -

Despite not reaching my time goal I really did enjoy this race.  The volunteers were great.  My bus had a chaperon explaining the charities the race benefited and how many kids in Hamilton are helped through the organizations receiving funds from this race. 

The course is flat with a huge downhill.  If I run this race again, I am going to train more for the downhill run.  Like I said, I flew down that portion of the race, when we got off the parkway, and went over the overpass, my legs turned into jello.  The only real complaint was parking. The marathon start was delayed for 10 minutes because there was a backlog of traffic and buses getting people to the start.  But there was a warm school to wait in.  The half start was not delayed.  So really no big deal.

Here is the shirt and medal.  I was a bit disappointed in the plain white t-shirt.  Last year they had red shirts which I really like.  But the medal is one of the nicest ones I've received for a half and the swag in the race kit was great - all those samples went straight in my carry on - yes I'm that cheap.



I would run this race again in a heartbeat... and hopefully do better.  I do want to congratulate people in my clinic. Shelley finished in under 2 hours!  Gina took 7 minutes off her time from the Niagara Falls half 2 weeks ago.  John finished in 1:44 and Larry took 5 minutes off his time from the Collingwood half 3 weeks ago blazing in at 1:36! You guys rock!