Good Morning, Baltimore!

Rebecca, me, Autumn

Woke up today, feeling the way I always do,
Hungry for something that I can't eat when I hear that beat.
That rhythm of town starts calling me down,
it's like a message from high above
Pulling me out to the smiles and streets that I love...
Good morning, Baltimore!

On Saturday Rebecca, Autumn, and I made the trek to Baltimore for the half marathon. It was the perfect day--here are some highlights:

• Weather: high 60s at the start, up to the low 70s. I even got a sunburn! Felt good.
  
• Speed and strength--despite the hills (and boy, was it a hilly course!), I maintained my pace. There is nothing like the exhilaration of feeling strong and feeling fast. I must remember... I'm storing that feeling up for my slow, weak days...
• A HUGE fan club--the streets were packed with people cheering us on. I love sideline spectators--they fuel and energize in ways that I don't know if they realize. Even if the signs cheering on a mom or dad or a friend weren't for me, I felt like they were in a small way. I loved the people passing out gummy bears or dancing or rocking out. They gave me strength to be strong (see above). I want to be a good spectator...There's the flasher that lives next door;
  There's the bum on his borrowed stool.
  They wish me luck on my way to school
  Seriously awesome to see all those people--homemade drums, cheering us on through their morning coffee...
  The rats on the street all dance around my feet--I literally saw a dead smooshed rat on the street, with this nasty tail that I can't even begin to describe, and just thinking about it brings a little bit of throw-up into my mouth...
• The sights. I've not spent a lot of time in Baltimore, other than Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor. There were like 3 really pleasant stretches on this course. The rest were a little sketchy--I had memories of Harlem rushing back at me. Perhaps the scarey folks and the boarded up windows pushed me to run a little faster?!? At any rate, I was grateful for the cops on every block and the 17,000 runners rushing down the street with me! It was great to see Johns Hopkins and Lake Montebello and the view of the Harbor.
• The finish line flourish: running toward Camden Yards was incredible--I LOVE love love that last burst of energy when you see the finish line and you pump past everyone in sight to reach it. Incredible. I'm a finisher.
  

And of course I had to come straight home (after a stop at Wendy's!) and buy the Hairspray soundtrack because I couldn't stop singing, "Good morning, Baltimore!"

Don't hold me back because today all my dreams will come true...

Don't make me wait one more moment for my life to start...

My feet tell me GO!...

Coming up... Richmond marathon... 15 November... just you wait...