Eurasia Marathon! (okay, 15k)

This is not a picture from our race. Maybe it came from last year? I don't know. I stole it off the internets. But I did not run with a camera. And Tim did not run with a camera, so I'm reduced to stealing photos. But this is how our run across the Bosphorus looked. Before we ran across the bridge, from Asia to Europe, we stood around in the rain for an hour. That's not really the best way to start a race. It does very little for morale, it's cold, and it's uncomfortable. Yours truly, however, was able to recover as soon as she warmed up--10 minutes or so into the race.

I actually ran quite well and took 10 minutes off my 15k time! Yes, I've only run 15k once, but I think I'm about in the same shape. And yes, that last one was at 10,000 feet. But I ran hard for me and that was nice. My only real problem is that I was out of energy. I wasn't able to eat breakfast that morning. So I had a pack of shot bloks before the run and two gels during the run. Not enough fuel for 9 miles of go. I was totally out of mojo by the last mile, but still pulled it through.

The differences in experiences between racing here--Turkey (it's almost Europe for crying outloud)--and there--South America (the shit-show) are stark. I will take a Quito race over an Istanbul race ANYDAY! I was blown away by the lack of organization this past weekend. There were barely any kilometer markers, aid stations had only water and they were tiny and understaffed, and I couldn't get my finishers medal at the end because I couldn't deal with 50 pushy sweaty bodies trying to get finish bags from ONE volunteer. Freaking Quito can do this better, people! Tim got a medal, but turns out it's the marathon medal.

I also really missed the Quiteno enthusiasm. People there would line the sidewalks and shout and cheer and sweetly offer you anything they had. Random runners would lead off into a motivational cheer or two. All that enthusiasm was sorely missing and missed. There were hardly any spectators. The one time I was cheered for during the race was when I passed by a Spanish family. Go figure. Oh, and at the end, because I was the only chick surrounded by men. And anytime there are few women, you gets lots of encouragement.

But all that being said, it's quite cool to run from one continent to another....and I'll take any excuse to hang out in Istanbul for a weekend. Maybe next year I'll run the marathon?