So I also forgot to mention in my last post that on the Wednesday before my parents arrived last week, I got a call from Megan. She started the conversation with, "Don't freak out..." which is always a good sign. I shouldn't be surprised - earlier this Spring I had a message on my cell phone from her that said, "Meredith - call me back as soon as possible, it is an emergency." Practically in tears, I called her back and was like, "Megan! What's wrong?!" To which she replied, "Oh nothing. I am out furniture shopping and I wanted to see if you would recommend a micro-fiber couch." But, I digress.
So...I get a phone call from her last Wednesday and she tells me to not freak out, but that she has just left her doctor's office because she was incredibly swollen, like Martin Short in Pure Luck kind of swollen. Or Violet in Willy Wonka in the Chocolate Factory kind of swollen. Apparently one of her supplements had high levels of niacin, and it just didn't jive well with some of the other supplements she was taking. But - the prognosis was good and by cutting out the particular supplement, she was able to get back to her normal, non-puffy self.
Fast forward to race day - Sunday, May 4th. I woke up at 4:40am and after a quick shower and a Starbucks DoubleShot, I was raring to go. I ate a banana, and a peanut butter Clif bar - the breakfast of champions. At 5:45am, I headed down to Megan's room. I passed a group of girls in the hallway who were running the half that day, they asked me to take their picture, so I did and asked them about the course. They said the course had been redone, and all of the hills had been taken out. I had my doubts about this, but I took their picture and continued on my way. We met my dad down in the lobby - he was the kind soul who had volunteered to drop us off at the starting area. When we got down to the lobby, my dad said "Everyone said that it will be easiest just to walk." I was like, "Hmmm - yes, it would be easier to walk, but it would take forever to walk a marathon!" But he was talking about walking to the starting area rather than driving, which made sense. So, we set off on our 1.5 mile trek across a huge bridge over the Ohio River. I don't know if I have ever mentioned my fear of bridges on here...but I am terrified of bridges. Luckily, I was able to make it across without falling in and we got to the starting area about 6:10am. We said goodbye to dad, and made our way to the bathrooms inside the Bengals stadium. The line was really long, but it went by fairly quickly. Pretty soon, we were making our way to the 4:30 pace group. The start time was actually delayed about 15 minutes to do a three-alarm fire on the race course, allowing me one last porta potty stop.
The race got started shortly after 6:30 with a big display of fireworks and a whole lotta "Eye of the Tiger" blasting from some speakers. My adrenaline was pumping and I was so excited - it seemed like everyone had come through both hell and high water to get to this point, and finally we were there, running the marathon. The first few miles were pretty uneventful, we went from Ohio into Kentucky, and then back into Ohio. We shed our long sleeved shirts and tried to settle into our pace. The course was lined with spectators and their cheers of encouragement were so great. This is by far the biggest and best crowd on a marathon course that I've seen. There was water and Gatorade at each mile, and we were clicking along at a 10/mile pace. I was a little concerned that we were going so slowly, but I felt like we might be able to make it up in the later miles. At mile 6 I asked Megan to hold my water from the aid station for a second so that I could dig out one of my Shot Bloks. I handed her the cup and she proceeded to drop it. Great! Oh well - I would make up for it at mile 7. At mile 8, I got some water and before I took a sip, Megan asked if she could have a quick drink. So I gave her the cup, she took a sip, and then through the cup past me into a field. At this point, I realized that she might be trying to sabotage me. I would later come to realize that she was just really out of it. We both made sure to stay hydrated and drank a little from each aid station we passed - it was still cool out, but the sun was out in full force and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
At around mile 8, I asked Megan a simple question and she was like "Um...no, I can't talk." Then a few miles later she was like, "I'm just going to walk for a second and catch my breath." So we walked for a very brief period, and then started back. Around 11, we passed this line of very cute 5 year old - all standing there with their hands held out for high fives. I ran over and gave each of them a high five and then ran back to Megan. Megan was panting and was like, "Maybe if they all band together, they can carry me to the finish." (*I need to insert here, for those of you who don't know my sister - that she is like the poster child for being in good shape. She is a marathoner, a triathlete, a duathlete, and a certified personal trainer. For her to be in this kind of pain this early on was definitely a warning sign that something was seriously wrong with her*) It was also at this point that she claims she saw the "Angel of Death" standing on top of a building. She wasn't doing so well, and we decided that we would run together until mile 20, and then I would pick it up and try and make up some time. My muscles were starting to ache a little from going so slowly - we were at about a 10:45 pace at this point. I kept looking at my watch, seeing my 4:30 finish time tick further and further away with each second, and saying that we needed to pick up the pace. Megan kept saying, "I can't pick up the pace any." It was kind of sad really.
So, we make it to mile 13, and Megan tells me to go ahead. She said she just couldn't have it on her conscious for me to miss my goal time because of her. I debated this in my head for a few seconds, and then said, ok - I'll go ahead. I cried from mile 13 to 14. I felt terrible for leaving her, but I just kept thinking, you've worked so hard for this, you need to pick up the pace and make up some time over the next few miles. At mile 16, one thought went through my head. Basically, it was "What the hell are you doing!?" The whole reason I got into marathons was to have something to share with my sister. I was so inspired by her at the White Rock marathon in 2005, and running the Flying Pig with her was a dream come true. I only get to see her two or three times a year - and I was disgusted with myself that I had left her alone on the streets of Cincinnati just because I wanted to finish the race in a good time.
I turned on a dime and headed back down to find her. All these people kept yelling at me, "You're going the wrong way!" Some of them seemed genuinely concerned. I told them, "Yes, I realize that." When hundreds of people are going one direction and I am going the opposite...I know I am going the wrong way. But for me, continuing on towards the finish without Megan was the wrong way. I found Megan shortly after mile 14. She was off of the road, and up on the sidewalk, staggering along with a terrible grimace on her face. I burst into tears and ran over to her. I told her that I would rather finish with her, even if we had to walk, than finish in my goal time alone. She was really out of it and was like "I need to get to an aid station." Her legs were buckling and she was on the verge of passing out and/or puking.
Luckily, there was an aid station a few blocks up, and she hobbled into. She told the people there that she was dehydrated, epileptic, and pretty sure she was going to pass out. They radioed for a van to come get us, and I leaned against one of the poles in the tent and began to cry. I can't really explain how I felt. So relieved to have found Megan when I did, but so, so disappointed to have quit the race. Megan and I waited for a van, and waited...and waited...and waited. We sat on a curb for TWO HOURS before a van came to pick us up. We were both pretty thirsty, but the first aid station had no water. At one point I ran to get water from a water stop, but then I heard an ambulance and thought it had come for Megan. I ran back to the first aid tent to find that no, the ambulance wasn't for Megan. We kept thinking that at any minute the van would show up, so I didn't want to leave to go get water. The aid station also didn't have any mylar blankets, and Megan had started to shiver uncontrollably. A lady who was volunteering for the race, and parked in a van just a few feet away from the aid station, let us borrow her blanket and we wrapped it around Megan. I asked the lady in the van if she would drive us to the first aid area at the finish, and she said "No, I'm only here for people who need a ride to the finish." Ok...well that is what we were. But she said she couldn't physically take people to the finish, she could only radio for them. This made no sense to me, seeing as how the people at the first aid station were all equipped with radios to call for vans to take people to the finish. It made no sense to have the van parked right next to the aid station, if it wasn't going to be used to transport people. I also asked the aid station people what would have happened if Megan had had a seizure, or a stroke, or a heart attack. Would they have let her lie there for two hours? They said they would have called for an ambulance at that point - which makes sense - but I think it is absolutely ridiculous that she had to wait for two hours to get medical attention.
Two problems caused the van to be delayed for two hours. One, our first request for a van got deleted by the 'master control' people accidentally. Second, the van that was supposed to come get us went to mile 14, didn't see anyone there - so they turned around and went back. They forgot that the lady at the aid station specifically said that we were waiting at the First Aid station at mile 14.5. It was completely unbelievable. Finally, after the very last walkers of the entire race had passed by the aid station, the van pulled up to get us. I was able to borrow one of the volunteers cell phones early on to alert my parents as to what was happening and where we were. So, we got in the van and headed towards the first aid area at the finish line, where my parents and Beulah were anxiously waiting. The guys in the van asked us how were doing and Megan said that she was ok, just dizzy and dehydrated. About 5 minutes into the ride, after taking a few wrong turns, the driver was like, "Oh - would yall like some water?" I was like "Yes! She just said she was dehydrated!!"
By now it was about 12:00pm. We had stopped at the aid station at 9:30am. We pulled up to the first aid station and medical people immediately began to take Megan's vital signs while someone ushered me out of the medical area. I found my mom and Beulah at the entrance to the medical area - I was so relieved to see them! My mom told me that my dad was running (he was literally running, which is impressive - especially across the huge bridge) back to the hotel to get the car.
OK...part three to be posted soon!
Showing posts with label Flying Pig disaster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flying Pig disaster. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Part One: Pre-Race
Ok - hunker down and you may want to consider getting a snack – this is a long one!
So this was the plan. My mom and dad were supposed to fly in from Houston at 1:00pm on Thursday, May 1st. My sister Megan and her friend Beulah were supposed to fly in from Dallas at 1:30pm, via Chicago, on Friday, May 2nd. We were going to have some friends over for dinner on Friday evening, have a leisurely Saturday morning, and then head to Cincinnati about noon.
This is what actually happened. Megan's flight from Dallas made it into Chicago on time, but because of bad weather across the mid-west, they were unable to land. Since they were unable to land, they had to circle the airport. Since they had to circle the airport, their fuel supply began to run low and they were re-routed to Milwaukee to get fuel. Once they landed there and re-fueled, there was no place for them to go. There were no open gates at the Milwaukee airport, so they weren't even able to get off the plane. I think they were physically on the plane from about 8:00am to around 3:00 or 4:00pm -- ridiculous! Finally, they got the go ahead to fly back to O'Hare. At this point, they had obviously missed their connection to Lexington, but were able to book an 8:00pm flight from Chicago to Lexington that landed at 10:20. About 8:00pm, the text messages from Megan started rolling in. The flight was delayed 20 minutes, then 40 minutes, then an hour, etc.
Finally, they boarded the plane to Lexington. They were on the plane for a few minutes when the pilot came over the radio. "Sorry folks - I've got some bad news," he said. They were canceling the flight because the pilots had reached their max amount of hours for the day - having to fly more than originally scheduled during the day because of all the re-routing around O'Hare. So - everyone got off the plane. They were not able to get their luggage - they were told it would be on the next flight to Lexington and that is when they could get their bags. Until then, it would be in a locked room in the airport that apparently no airport employee had access to.
The airlines gave them a green voucher for 50% off of a room at the Motel 6...10 miles away. So Megan called Motel 6 while Beulah tried in vain to get their bags. Motel 6 said the room would be $120, but Megan would only have to pay $60 with her pink voucher from the airline. Well, she had a green voucher - and Motel 6 would only take pink ones on the weekend. So, the Motel 6 would be full price. At this point, Megan called and was crying and was asking what she should do. I calmly mentioned that they might want to look into flying directly into Cincinnati the next morning and Megan screamed "don't say another word about Cincinnati!" and then cried some more and hung up on me. She was in a pretty fragile state at that point. My parents called her back and told her to get a hotel room at the Hilton that was located in the airport - no matter what the cost - just so that they could get some sleep. They ended up taking a shuttle to an Embassy Suites nearby. They are seeking to be reimbursed for the expenses by American Airlines, as they should be.
So, they got to the hotel, sans luggage, and were able to get a decent night's sleep. The next morning they got up and headed back to O'Hare for a late morning flight to Lexington. The plan was now for us to pick them up from the airport and head directly to Cincinnati.
After a quick stop at Starbucks to settle our nerves, we got to the airport baggage claim area in the airport. There are only two claim areas in the Lexington airport and one said "Chicago --1:25pm" – plus the monitors showed that the flight was on time for a 1:25pm landing. We asked someone who got off of the plane if they were on the Chicago flight and she said "Yes – it only took us 26 gours!" So, we were like great, this is their flight. Well, we waited and waited – and waited some more and there was no sign of Megan or Beulah coming down the escalator. We looked over to the luggage carousel – all the bags had been claimed. At this point, my mom put her head in her hands, leaned against a support column and began to sob. It was also at this time that I realized they were most likely caught in the Bermuda Triangle and we were destined to never see them again. My dad – being the most level headed of our group at this point – went to the American Airlines counter to ask about the status of the flight. They told him that the flight was still in the air, but scheduled to land at 2:00pm. By this point, it was about 1:50pm so we didn’t have much longer to wait in the agonizing suspense. We still don’t know what the girl was smoking who told us that she had just gotten off the flight from Chicago.
Thankfully, the flight from Chicago landed as promised at 2:00pm– and Megan, Beulah and their luggage all arrived safely. Since they had been without their luggage for about 30 hours at this point, they went to the bathroom and brushed their teeth, washed their faces and changed clothes. Megan was also finally able to take her anti-seizure medication that she had been without for the past day.
We left the airport and began our journey to “Cincy.” We stopped for a quick lunch at the delicious Chipotle. Carbo-loading” should technically include tortilla chips and cilantro-lime rice, but it probably wasn’t the best pre-marathon lunch. But, I’m an emotional eater and damnit, I wanted Chipotle! I kept telling Megan that she didn’t have to run the next day in the marathon. She was exhausted, dehydrated, and even quite dizzy at times.
So we get on the road to Cincinnati and miraculously made it there in one piece. The directions said to exit on 5th Street, so we exited on 5th Street and begin looking for the expo center. Unfortunately, we were on 5th Street in Covington, KY - and we needed to be on 5th Street in Cincinnati, OH. So we get back on I-75 to go a few more miles into Cincinnati, and I accidentally took the I-71 exit instead of I-75. So we go down I-71 a few miles until we can find a turnaround point. Finally, we found one and got going in the right direction (and in the right city) for the expo. We got to the expo and everything went pretty smoothly (other than my mother almost being crushed to death by an elevator door in a parking garage). The expo was really nice – there were a lot of giveaways – Crest toothpaste and mouthwash, Clif bars, Smuckers peanut butter and jelly, etc, and the runner premiums were really great. A snazzy duffle bag, a nice poster, and a somewhat hideously designed t-shirt. But it’s an Asics technical t-shirt, so I am going to modify it a bit(the cap sleeves must go – my sister and I put the shirts on and the cut of the shirt made us resemble Peanut M&M’s more than anything). And I did buy a really cool Asics/Headsweats Flying Pig hat that I’m in love with.
After leaving the expo, we decided to go to the hotel and get checked in. The hotel was about 1.5 miles from the race start and abuzz with other runners. After settling in for a few minutes, my dad and I worked out a race day strategy as to where we would meet my parents and Beulah along the course. We decided to meet them just after the water stop at Mile 25. At this point, the plan was for my mom to pass me my cell phone -- just in case we had trouble meeting up with them in the finish area.
Once that was decided, we headed to Pompilio’s, a local Italian restaurant in Northern Kentucky, for some true carbo-loading. We followed the directions and ended up at 6th and Washington – right where the restaurant was supposed to be located. However, all we saw were empty parking lots and homes. Blast! Once again, we were in the wrong city! So we pulled into a Shell gas station to ask for directions, and the only parking spot available was a handicapped space. We thought – well, Dad only has to run in for a second – what are the odds someone will pull up. My dad gets out to ask directions and sure enough – an Expedition with a handicapped parking tag pulls right up behind us. My dad offered to move, but the guy was really nice and said it was ok. So, my dad went inside to ask directions and the people at the gas station had no idea where the restaurant was, but ironically the man in the handicapped vehicle knew right were it was and was so nice to tell my dad how to get there. So, we finally get to Pompilios and it is about 8:15(that’s about 11:00pm in Mere-Maw time) and lo and behold, there is a two-hour wait. I had called on Friday afternoon to make reservations, but they didn’t take reservations at all. So, some people who were also in line for a table pointed us in the general direction of "Newport on the Levee” – a place just down the road with a lot of shops and restaurants.
We made our way there, decided to go to Arnie’s on the Levee, and all settled into a booth. Megan, my mom and I all got spaghetti and meatballs and Beulah and my dad each got a pizza. The food was really pretty excellent, and we had some good conversations and lots of laughs reminiscing over my mom’s short-lived stint as a puppeteer.
With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
**Check back soon for part two -- “During the Race”
So this was the plan. My mom and dad were supposed to fly in from Houston at 1:00pm on Thursday, May 1st. My sister Megan and her friend Beulah were supposed to fly in from Dallas at 1:30pm, via Chicago, on Friday, May 2nd. We were going to have some friends over for dinner on Friday evening, have a leisurely Saturday morning, and then head to Cincinnati about noon.
This is what actually happened. Megan's flight from Dallas made it into Chicago on time, but because of bad weather across the mid-west, they were unable to land. Since they were unable to land, they had to circle the airport. Since they had to circle the airport, their fuel supply began to run low and they were re-routed to Milwaukee to get fuel. Once they landed there and re-fueled, there was no place for them to go. There were no open gates at the Milwaukee airport, so they weren't even able to get off the plane. I think they were physically on the plane from about 8:00am to around 3:00 or 4:00pm -- ridiculous! Finally, they got the go ahead to fly back to O'Hare. At this point, they had obviously missed their connection to Lexington, but were able to book an 8:00pm flight from Chicago to Lexington that landed at 10:20. About 8:00pm, the text messages from Megan started rolling in. The flight was delayed 20 minutes, then 40 minutes, then an hour, etc.
Finally, they boarded the plane to Lexington. They were on the plane for a few minutes when the pilot came over the radio. "Sorry folks - I've got some bad news," he said. They were canceling the flight because the pilots had reached their max amount of hours for the day - having to fly more than originally scheduled during the day because of all the re-routing around O'Hare. So - everyone got off the plane. They were not able to get their luggage - they were told it would be on the next flight to Lexington and that is when they could get their bags. Until then, it would be in a locked room in the airport that apparently no airport employee had access to.
The airlines gave them a green voucher for 50% off of a room at the Motel 6...10 miles away. So Megan called Motel 6 while Beulah tried in vain to get their bags. Motel 6 said the room would be $120, but Megan would only have to pay $60 with her pink voucher from the airline. Well, she had a green voucher - and Motel 6 would only take pink ones on the weekend. So, the Motel 6 would be full price. At this point, Megan called and was crying and was asking what she should do. I calmly mentioned that they might want to look into flying directly into Cincinnati the next morning and Megan screamed "don't say another word about Cincinnati!" and then cried some more and hung up on me. She was in a pretty fragile state at that point. My parents called her back and told her to get a hotel room at the Hilton that was located in the airport - no matter what the cost - just so that they could get some sleep. They ended up taking a shuttle to an Embassy Suites nearby. They are seeking to be reimbursed for the expenses by American Airlines, as they should be.
So, they got to the hotel, sans luggage, and were able to get a decent night's sleep. The next morning they got up and headed back to O'Hare for a late morning flight to Lexington. The plan was now for us to pick them up from the airport and head directly to Cincinnati.
After a quick stop at Starbucks to settle our nerves, we got to the airport baggage claim area in the airport. There are only two claim areas in the Lexington airport and one said "Chicago --1:25pm" – plus the monitors showed that the flight was on time for a 1:25pm landing. We asked someone who got off of the plane if they were on the Chicago flight and she said "Yes – it only took us 26 gours!" So, we were like great, this is their flight. Well, we waited and waited – and waited some more and there was no sign of Megan or Beulah coming down the escalator. We looked over to the luggage carousel – all the bags had been claimed. At this point, my mom put her head in her hands, leaned against a support column and began to sob. It was also at this time that I realized they were most likely caught in the Bermuda Triangle and we were destined to never see them again. My dad – being the most level headed of our group at this point – went to the American Airlines counter to ask about the status of the flight. They told him that the flight was still in the air, but scheduled to land at 2:00pm. By this point, it was about 1:50pm so we didn’t have much longer to wait in the agonizing suspense. We still don’t know what the girl was smoking who told us that she had just gotten off the flight from Chicago.
Thankfully, the flight from Chicago landed as promised at 2:00pm– and Megan, Beulah and their luggage all arrived safely. Since they had been without their luggage for about 30 hours at this point, they went to the bathroom and brushed their teeth, washed their faces and changed clothes. Megan was also finally able to take her anti-seizure medication that she had been without for the past day.
We left the airport and began our journey to “Cincy.” We stopped for a quick lunch at the delicious Chipotle. Carbo-loading” should technically include tortilla chips and cilantro-lime rice, but it probably wasn’t the best pre-marathon lunch. But, I’m an emotional eater and damnit, I wanted Chipotle! I kept telling Megan that she didn’t have to run the next day in the marathon. She was exhausted, dehydrated, and even quite dizzy at times.
So we get on the road to Cincinnati and miraculously made it there in one piece. The directions said to exit on 5th Street, so we exited on 5th Street and begin looking for the expo center. Unfortunately, we were on 5th Street in Covington, KY - and we needed to be on 5th Street in Cincinnati, OH. So we get back on I-75 to go a few more miles into Cincinnati, and I accidentally took the I-71 exit instead of I-75. So we go down I-71 a few miles until we can find a turnaround point. Finally, we found one and got going in the right direction (and in the right city) for the expo. We got to the expo and everything went pretty smoothly (other than my mother almost being crushed to death by an elevator door in a parking garage). The expo was really nice – there were a lot of giveaways – Crest toothpaste and mouthwash, Clif bars, Smuckers peanut butter and jelly, etc, and the runner premiums were really great. A snazzy duffle bag, a nice poster, and a somewhat hideously designed t-shirt. But it’s an Asics technical t-shirt, so I am going to modify it a bit(the cap sleeves must go – my sister and I put the shirts on and the cut of the shirt made us resemble Peanut M&M’s more than anything). And I did buy a really cool Asics/Headsweats Flying Pig hat that I’m in love with.
After leaving the expo, we decided to go to the hotel and get checked in. The hotel was about 1.5 miles from the race start and abuzz with other runners. After settling in for a few minutes, my dad and I worked out a race day strategy as to where we would meet my parents and Beulah along the course. We decided to meet them just after the water stop at Mile 25. At this point, the plan was for my mom to pass me my cell phone -- just in case we had trouble meeting up with them in the finish area.
Once that was decided, we headed to Pompilio’s, a local Italian restaurant in Northern Kentucky, for some true carbo-loading. We followed the directions and ended up at 6th and Washington – right where the restaurant was supposed to be located. However, all we saw were empty parking lots and homes. Blast! Once again, we were in the wrong city! So we pulled into a Shell gas station to ask for directions, and the only parking spot available was a handicapped space. We thought – well, Dad only has to run in for a second – what are the odds someone will pull up. My dad gets out to ask directions and sure enough – an Expedition with a handicapped parking tag pulls right up behind us. My dad offered to move, but the guy was really nice and said it was ok. So, my dad went inside to ask directions and the people at the gas station had no idea where the restaurant was, but ironically the man in the handicapped vehicle knew right were it was and was so nice to tell my dad how to get there. So, we finally get to Pompilios and it is about 8:15(that’s about 11:00pm in Mere-Maw time) and lo and behold, there is a two-hour wait. I had called on Friday afternoon to make reservations, but they didn’t take reservations at all. So, some people who were also in line for a table pointed us in the general direction of "Newport on the Levee” – a place just down the road with a lot of shops and restaurants.
We made our way there, decided to go to Arnie’s on the Levee, and all settled into a booth. Megan, my mom and I all got spaghetti and meatballs and Beulah and my dad each got a pizza. The food was really pretty excellent, and we had some good conversations and lots of laughs reminiscing over my mom’s short-lived stint as a puppeteer.
With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
**Check back soon for part two -- “During the Race”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)