The Tube Sock Guy: Friends...

I had come full circle...breaks, bruises...sprains and strains and now again...The alarm clock went off at 5:00am Sunday morning and Fredericksburg's finest 13.1 lay ahead of me.
Lets back up a moment...not too far...because this time we had a team. There was Sara, a seasoned runner like myself who can certainly power the hills that lay ahead. Next was Austin...some people are built to run...that's all him. Then Will...a lean young guy we dubbed the "Wild Card" as his training did not consist as much of cardio than calories, but no stranger to the gym though. Last but certainly not least was Patti...my good friend and coworker of many years whose physical prowess is as strong as her youthful spirit. Five of us made up the Half Marathon team...not to exclude the 10K duo of Larisa and Megan as well as 5K duo Aubrey and Tony.
The Friday night before the race I hosted a carbo load party at my house for teammates and their families...pretty much anyone else who wanted to cheer us on too. Spaghetti and Chicken fettuccine that could feed an army didn't stand a chance against the hungry and energy deprived lot of us. We talked and laughed like warriors before a battle to take on the unknown of Sunday morning...weather was still up in the air of course and our electronic devices updated us hourly.
Fast forward...its Sunday morning...its pretty cloudy with high humidity and a solid 65 degrees with chances for rain...or perfect as I like to also call it. Got to the parking area and made our way to the stakeout where friends and family knew to meet. I headed to the start line and reminisced in my mind a little from last year and how far I had come. To think that this is now my way of life...Nathan Miller, runner...it still almost sounds a little sarcastic when I say it. It had become my stress release and adrenaline rush...my new habit and source of...fun! I would love to go back a few years in time and tell myself that this is what he would be doing soon...but then again, I believe Doc told Marty that seeing one's self from the past or future could have grave consequences on the space time continuum...uh, sorry...got a little off track there. So I'm running now and feeling great...having fun and feeling the adrenaline as I make my way out of Central Park (for my out of town followers, we here in Fredericksburg have a Central Park too...that's how we roll) and head for downtown. We ran into a little rain at mile 3 which always feels nice and saw a few people along the way that I knew, the course was laid out exactly as last year and we serpentine-d through the streets into the old part of Fredericksburg where bands played for us and spectators cheered despite the weather. I was also wearing my calf compression sleeves as my shins had started to give me issues and they were working very well...when your calf muscles are as huge and defined as mine (that's right, you thought it, I said it) they can vibrate from the impacting of running pulling on the tissue in the front of the Tibia and cause...pain, thus...compression sleeves to minimize it! I only ran into Patti out on the course out of all of our crew and good that I saw her first as she claimed that if it were the other way around...I would have her on my back. Continuing on to mile eight now and bumped into yet another friend Christianne...we continued onward together towards Hospital hill which is the "Highlight" of the race and just like last year, put all my energy into it and again made it through...well, not with ease of course...damn thing is steep! We continued on up Cowan Blvd and the unassuming hill that was there too, but to our surprise...The VA Runner crew was out there to pump us up and got us through it like champs...gotta love 'em! That last couple of tenths of a mile in are great...better than any other race out there...the cheering and fanfare really makes this event the absolute best. We powered to the finish line where yet again Marine soldiers were settling medals around our necks. The satisfaction feeling with this is tremendous...I never want to take these medals off and want to scream from the top of a mountain my accomplishment...and with so many friends too. I stayed over with my entourage again and cheered on more runners as they made their way in and got to escort Patti to the finish as well just like with Laura the year before...the irony. This had been my 4th Half Marathon and my first repeat half race...and as long as I can go out and do this, expect to see me and my tube sock coursing through the historic streets...sweet calves and all.