Toroko Gorge Marathon 2010

Because we were really excited for this race we nailed down our babysitter for our 4 kids + 1 cousin, about 3 months before the race. That is why it was seriously frustrating when she fell through two days before the race. In the end Bonnie selflessly offered to stay at the hotel with the 4 older children for more than 8 hrs. (thank you, thank you, thank you Bonnie!)

Aaand I woke up Ander to go with the rest of us runners at 4am. Poor baby! We stayed at an amazing hotel up the gorge and so we had a 25-30 min bus ride down the mountain to the starting. Well, our bus driver decided he was gonna give us a 'special' treat by recreating a prolonged Space Mountain ride. The lights were on in the bus and it was black outside and you couldn't anticipate which way we would jerk next. It wasn't long before I  needed one of the barf bags on the bus... and I used it. Great way to start a race eh? 

 We got off of the spacecraft bus and made our way in the rain into the park. It wasn't long before we met up with our friends and you could feel the excitement in the air as race time approached.

 This is most of us who were running.

 Tara, Nathan's sister, was running her first official half marathon and Nathan was running the full marathon.

 The mother's who were running had special shirts that said in Chinese, "I am a mother of X number of children... And I can still run!" In a country with a negative birth rate, we really turned heads with our numbers.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to wear the shirt considering I would be pushing a baby for the first time and in a non-jogger stroller, lest I become an embarrassment, but in the end I decided to just go for it.

 Look at this picture of the starting line of the 1/2 and Full. It is just so cool!

 I actually found Nathan and Tara in the crowd ^ if you want to play Where's Waldo, Tara is in the pink shirt with blonde hair and Nathan is to her right. A couple helps, the tall guy with the blue shirt was with them... I was surprised to find Norm -who I had been running around looking for- had disappeared down to the starting line to see Nathan and Tara off. He's the blue hat.

 I will say this repeatedly and I will not apologize. Toroko gorge is AMAZING. It's huge and the above and below pics illustrate that, in that the runners,who you can actually see, are about the size of ants.

As the 5k-ers were getting ready to start I was desperately trying to get pictures of my FIL really getting into the warm up exercises with the rest of the crowd. Only later when I looked at the picture did I realize that someone had desperately been trying to get a picture of me.
 Oh Asia... how I love thee :)

 Our 5k started and Ander and I were off. The scenery was so incredible. Everyone was full on stopping to take pictures.

 My run was hard at times but good and I became very grateful I was wearing the shirt about 1/3 of the way in when I realized most of the racers were giving me big smiles, thumbs up and shouting encouraging "JIAYOU!?" (an idiom that literally translates to "add fuel"). Some even ran next to me for a bit to ask if my shirt was true. One just ran ahead of me, turned around and ran backwards while giving me a big, cheezy, thumbs up. It was hilarious and helpful.

 We did it! Not gonna lie, I was pleased with my time considering the circumstances.

 Next Norm and I waited for Tara. She did so awesome!! She finished strong and spent the next few hours telling people that yes, she does in fact have 5 children. I was so proud that she ran such an awesome race and made great time. Way to go Tara!!!!

 Meanwhile, miles up the gorge, Nathan was making his way up to the turn around point which happened to be at our hotel. So Bonnie and the kids waited outside to see Nathan and cheer him on. They gave lot's of racers high fives and "Jiayou!"'s while waiting.
Unfortunately by now, Nathan was in misery, having cramped up going up the mountain. Kohen was like, "We've been waiting an hour dad, go faster!"

And because Nathan was in so much excruciating pain and I like to keep things light here on the blog, let's take a moment for some comic relief.
HERE'S TO YOU MR. (& Mrs.) ROBINSON:

 When I saw it coming my way, and I actually had my camera ready and the darn thing actually worked... it was a FESTIVUS MIRACLE!!!
After all of our speculation last year on this character, I think it's safe to say this drafty getup is his M.O.
I get the giggles every time I look at it. I still can't believe, out of 10,000 people, I got this picture!!!
It was a message from the god of friendship, reminding us how much we love and miss the Robinsons. :)

 Back to the agony and the pain.
We waited a long time for Nathan. And after an ambulance went up the gorge I was waiting quite nervously. But nearing 5 hours -an all time worst for my sweet husband- a broke down Nathan came out of the tunnel. I was so grateful he made it!!! I was so proud he finished! Especially after he told us about how at one point he was just dragging a cramped leg along. I love you babe xoxoxo

A day that started off about 4 hours too early, followed by an up-chuck and cold, drizzly rain turned into a day full of self satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment and a little sunshine to highlight the beauty all around us.
The full body massages back at the glorious hotel didn't hurt either...