I wrote a more serious and emotional summary of this weekend's trip to Vancouver which you can read, but I think a Coach Karl style summary is more needed right now. At least for me it is. So I shall do my best to live up to such a lofty goal.
Friday morning, it's still dark when the alarm goes off. Ah crap, what did I agree to? Oh well. Grab my stuff, get in the car, pick up Christine, get to PDX on time. Hey there's Erin! Cool.
Self check in, boarding pass in hand we begin the wait to get through security. Why is there only one lane open? Poorly managed? Okay, time to strip down and go the the metal detector with my bagels that Matt tried to get me to worry about. "They won't let you through with those…" Thanks, Matt.
Through security, clothes back on, bags ready and… wait for Julie to finish her full body cavity search. It's cool, she tipped the TSA for "services rendered." Oh hey, there's Coach Mike! He wasn't at the Starbucks like he promised. It's okay, he's still awesome.
Wander down to the gate. A few others are there too. Time for breakfast. Michelle took pictures. Cap'n Mike is too good for us and does not sit with us until pressured into it. Then he had a big bean breakfast burrito. Glad the Mike's have their own room tonight. "Alaska Airlines Flight 28somethingsomething paging passengers Hatch, Wall, 'Wee-dick' Broshar to the counter for passport verification." Hey where are Skye and Joe anyway? What about Becky and Kevin? Oh Kevin had to work. He might not make it. Whaaaaaaat?! What about Kayla? Oh she is working too but will drive up tonight.
Hey there's Becky. She has shirts. Cool! They stink but man they're pretty. Thank you Becky for getting that together, Michelle for the shirts, Renee for the rush print job and whoever the designer was for some kick ass design work.
"Alaska Airlines Flight 28somethingsomething still paging passengers 'Wee-dick' to the counter for passport verification." Ha, ha! Coach Mike isn't the only one to screw up their name in a sophmorish way. Awesome.
Oh hey, Skye and Joe are here. So is Andy, the Flex Coach. He turned out alright.
"Alaska Airlines Flight 28somethingsomething, now boarding for Vancouver BC."
Wow, this is a small plane. Oh no, Amy has to sit next to me. Poor, poor Amy. Huh, look at that. Erin is all the way in the front of the plane, just about as far away from Coach Mike and I as she could get. Me thinks that was planned. Fasten your seat belts people, we'll make this a bumpy ride. Okay I meant the whole trip but the pilot thought I meant he should make for a bumpy landing. That's alright, we made it. Michelle took pictures. Breathe that fresh Canadian air.
Shuffle, shuffle, bags, shuffle, shuffle, limo. What? You mean you didn't take a limo to your hotel? I just thought that was parr for the course. Sorry Eugene. All loaded up. Who let Skye control the radio? Joe was not happy with her choice of Canadian pop star radio, which none of us knew. Matt loved his limo driver. The guy was super chatty and full of useless info.
Oh nice! The Sheraton! Wow it's pretty. Michelle took pictures. And the weather is cool and clear. So pretty. …Sorry Eugene. Check in, aaaand I got upgraded to a sweet suite. 27th floor. Leather couch. Separate bedroom. Multiple tv's. Fruit plate. Special thank you note from LLS for being a top fundraiser. Freaking amazing view! …Sorry Eugene.
Everyone checks in excluding those arriving later. And Coach Kevin will fly up in the morning. Good! We all really want him there with us.
Group walk to Italian food, my pizza margherita was so good. Hey Matt, how was that $10+ Guinness? He was not the only to get started for the weekend. Pretty sure Michelle took pictures. Okay, now on to the expo. Walking down through Vancouver. It really is a pretty town.
Japadog. Many celebrity in Japadog.
The expo was at the "Canada Place," on Coal Harbor. Michelle took pictures. Sign the medical waiver provided by the country of Canada and some Joe Schmoe Doctor. Bib's, bags, shirts, souvenir shirts/hats/jackets to prove we were there. Normal expo stuff.
Whew. Done with that. Waiting outside for everyone. Apparently, they were waiting inside for us. Regrouped and walk back to the hotel. Stop along the way at the IGA for copious amounts of coconut water and whatever else people needed. Loaf of bread and PBJ for me, thanks.
Back to the hotel, to my 27th floor suite. Got everything put away and fell asleep on the couch until Matt called and offered my a massage. It was time to meet up for dinner anyway. Regrouped in the lobby waited for Michelle who forgot something in her room, then made off with our tour guide Coach Mike. He was pretty awesome about setting up reservations at Yaletown. It was good food. Hockey game. More drinking for people, and Michelle took pictures. From there we went to a gelateria. Hockey game in every window along the way.
Matt found a free newspaper for Mike, either one, Michelle did NOT take pictures. Coach Mike gave it to Becky to give to Kevin. But then he left it for the kiddies in the ice cream shop. Silly Mike. Walking back, hey look! $0.25 peep shows! One of the mannequins just about poked Erin's eye out. Sheesh!
Some may have gone back out after the group got home. They must have because somehow Mike and Mike ended up sharing a bed. All I know is there was snoring, then punching, then no snoring and Kayla was there. Oh hey! Kayla and entourage are here! So is Kevin! Nice. Now time for breakfast. Wait, is Michelle here yet? Okay, here she comes. Tour Guide Mike? If you would please. Thank you.
The Elbow Room. What the-! "Big Ass Pancake" may have actually fallen short in describing what was served. I ate half and wish I had stopped earlier. Behold, the new sport of "Extreme Carb Loading." Michelle took pictures. Time to break up the band. Coaches and Staff have their meeting so we plan on meeting in the lobby about 5:15. I did a little shopping on Robison, then slept for 2 hours.
Time for the Inspiration Dinner. Put on the OSWIM BMO shirts. We look gooood!! Enter the building and follow the noise. Kayla didn't know that was for us. Oh yes. Yes it is. And it will be awesome. Down the escalator to reveal Coach Mike holding, oh wait, ooooooohh nnoooooo. Erin was right. I should never have sent her that picture of me when I was bald with Photoshoped pig tails. It was creepy. I will get you Erin. I don't know how or when, but I will. And it will be awe- wait for it -some!
Dinner was good. According to Matt, worlds better than the TEAM dinner in Paris. …That freaking picture of me just will not go away. It's a big group of TNTers, and now speakers. Presentation of the top fundraisers. They gave us these little glass statues of Inuksuk, the logo used for the Olympic games there. Matt too pictures of me as a keynote speaker. Now to the real speaker. Man, no matter how many times I have done this, I still get teary.
Dinner is done. Inspirational words from coaches and mentors. You have to expect that Michelle is taking pictures. And 20 cameras and phones later, we head outside …for MORE photos. This time in front of the fountain dyed purplish for us. Sure it was. Uh-huh. Photobombers went all Egyption on us. Then I paid it forward on the Coaches photo op. :)
Okay, everyone go back to your room and go straight to bed to be well rested for tomorrow. That or head to an Irish pub down the street. A different kind of carb loading ensued. And I had more Diet Coke. But don't worry, Michelle took pictures. Because it was awesome.
Now for real, go home and go to sleep. Someone went a little Buddy the Elf on the elevator buttons. Not sayin' who, but I had to apologize to the two guys that were not with our group. Make sure everything is ready for tomorrow then crawl in bed. JUMP out of bed when the alarm went off. Gather in the lobby. Now in race attire, photo op. Wait, is Michelle down yet? More photo's. On to the train. off the train and walk like a pilgrim across the plains to the start area. Holy freaking bathroom lines Batman!
Sing Oh Canada, then run. Downhill, more downhill, Erin! OW! Her staff friend cut me! There's Michelle! She took pictures! Cross a bridge, run around, enter Chinatown, see a strung out hooker on the sideline, leave Chinatown, running kind of slow but still ok, there's Kevin! Run past Yaletown, start to hit the coastline, hey there's Coach Mike! Half way (for the half), into Stanley Park, over the river and through the woods, Captain Mike caught me, we didn't talk much, Captain Mike left me, it's cool, sea wall in Coal Harbor, holy sh-- I don't think I can run anymore, hey there's Kevin! He's looking at me funny. I don't feel very good. He walked with me to the final chute. I couldn't feel my legs, I grabbed onto Kevin more than once, I made it across the finish line! Bag check, sit down and recover.
Christine and a few others checked on me then headed back out for course support.
...recover ...more.
...
...okay, I think I can stand now. Check out at the TNT tent, start walking back. Hey there's Michelle! We walk a bit then see Christine running with Kayla. Hooray for Kayla! She rocked it. Christine and Michelle switch, Michelle with Kayla and Christine with me. We go back to the 20k/41k marker. Cheer on everyone, especially all TNT peeps and the Japanese because they were awesome! There's Skye! YEAH!! She looked awesome! Matt had been running with people. He stayed to cheer. Superman passed us, really not looking very super. Barney the dinosaur passed us. We stayed for Megan. Our last OSWIM teammate. She was awesome! We all walked up with her into the chute. She ran the last bit. It was truly amazing to see her surrounded by so many coaches and teammates in support approaching the finish. A beautiful reminder of just how tight and supportive this team was. I loved it.
Coaches went back to do the same for the last of the other TNT peeps. …Because they are awesome.
Clean up fast and head out to Doolin's to celebrate. It did not take long. Kevin was so glad to see me. He told me I scared the sh-- out of him on the course. There was more hockey, a kick ass burger (for me), dancing girls -not that kind Cap'n Mike. Sheesh. Jill got pressured into Nike Women's, she gave the high five of committal, Coach Mike told me he did not want me on the team, he said I am just too much awesome to have another season this year with me. Maybe he fears his head exploding. More drinks, more Diet Coke for me. Michelle took pictures. Sara and Alfredo made for good company, even though he is not really an attorney. Cap'n Mike tells us the ins and outs of cross state border high speed chases. And exit in search of margaritas since it was Cinco de Mayo.
There was promise of ice cream. Bait and switch I say. Waffles and ice cream, just an easy 5k walk away. Only to be denied. …awesome. I crashed. 9 hours of solid sleep. Beautiful. Shower real fast then meet up for breakfast of crepes. Wait for Michelle to grab whatever she forgot in her room. We applauded upon her arrival. Back to Robison to Cafe Crepe. Thank you for indulging me. Go our separate ways before check out.
Check out and our limo driver drove like he could not get us out of the car fast enough. But yeah, it was still a limo. Sorry Eug--
With a couple hours to kill at the airport, time for lunch and last minute duty free shopping that cost an arm. They said our legs were useless and refused them as payment. Check in, board sit down and sleep. It's a short flight. The landing was far better. Holy crap it is hot in Portland! Kevin met us at PDX. We said our goodbyes. Many of this team is doing Nike so they will see each other in a couple weeks anyway. Kind of wish I was going to do that too.
But I'm not worried. Michelle will take pictures.
It will be …awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment