So, I was frustrated enough with my St. George finish as I typed my race report that I didn't express my gratitude, so here's my attempt:
Adam R Wende,
when the weather gets windy,
thou art by my side
or behind thy back I can hide.
When I need to go potty,
you don't tell me my split is shoddy
Ok, I think that's enough bad poetry. But, seriously, I so appreciate Adam's sacrifice in working his race around me. Even though he wasn't going to go for his sub-2:30, he took a selfless route of helping a friend through a race. He waited for me outside of portapotties, he told me splits, told me the splits were ok even when they were off, he put his hand down to make me give him five (but hold your hand down longer because I would have actually punched your hand if you had, Lybi taught me that trick). He helped me stay calm at the beginning and as my pace slipped. He helped me regain confidence after a rough miles 9-13 and we slowly reined in #1 lady together (he helped remind me to not get too excited about catching the ponytail in the early miles). Somewhere past the middle of the race, he started to tell the crowds my name and they cheered for me. He kept doing that for the whole rest of the race, and they cheered for me all the way in. It was a little embarrassing but also thrilling to hear my name so much.
He told me afterward he left me for last 4.5 miles to let me do the soul searching miles on my own. That actually was the perfect call, because I needed to do those hardest miles on my own. So the toughest lessons out there were not denied me
Thank you Adam!
