Yesterday up relatively early (for a weekend) and out to an apple/pumpkin/raspberry orchard. Sure, it was an one and a half hours away, but oh-so worth it! Horizon broken only by colorful foliage, dry cornstalks, and fresh breezes. We picked Yellow and Red Delicious apples, ate some apple pie washed down with cold cider, and purchased fresh doughnuts and apple butter at the store. Consumer-driven and country-stereotypical? Sure! Do I care? NO!
I found the perfect pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. I will take pictures and show future generations the perfect pumpkin I found in my 24th year on this earth. It did not grow on its side but rather its bottom, making it perfectly round. I left a large stem when I pulled it off the vine. The stem even curves to make a just-right handle (minus those stupid little prickers pumpkins come with). I almost do not want to carve it, but I want its seeds so it has to be cut sometime. I decided I am going to roast pumpkin seeds this year. I remember doing this when I was younger but haven't had them in years. I know they are very healthy and it should be fun!
We arrived home from the orchard later than we planned, and last night was pretty low-key. I knew I had to be up VERY early this morning, so I tried to get to bed at a decent time. Tried is the operative word in that sentence. I got busy and did not go down until about 11:30, meaning the 5:00 am wake up call came way too soon!
The Chicago Marathon was today and I volunteered at an aid location, mile 16 rather than the 13 I had previously thought. Arrived around 6:15 to check in and get my instructions. The group I was with helped in the Gatorade block, while the water was another block down. Let it be said that if I had not already previously despised Gatorade I would have developed a loathing in the 7 hours I was out today.
Keeping in mind last year's fiasco of a marathon in which the day was unexpectedly warm and the aid stations terribly short-supplied, the officials this year added five more aid stations; all told, 100,000 gallons of Gatorade and water. It was my our job to stack the tables of Gatorade 5-tiers high and we spent the first few hours this morning doing just that. Favorite quote of the morning had to come from the Gatorade Coordinator at our station who, while instructing us on the parts of Gatorade to parts of water ratio, said, "The Gatorade is highly concentrated and cannot be drunk straight from the container. Doing so will kill you." It's lethal, but watered down it's a great, electrolyte-boosting sports drink! Woohoo!
Once the runners really started coming through my job turned to standing course-side, passing cups to runners and yelling my voice raw. Between spilling Gatorade all over me while filling the cups in the morning, having it splashed on me as runners snatched the cups out of my hand and the hands of those in front of me, and having not-empty cups tossed at me I came away pretty well soaked and sticky from the race. Straight home and into the shower and clothes straight into the washer.
I had a ton of fun, though! It was totally awesome to see the elite runners, and the rest of the pack was, for the most part, very polite and thankful. It was hot again today, about 80 degrees by noon (it's never a good sign when it is 65 degrees and humid before the sun is even up) and the race starts a bit later than most. Because of last year, race officials instituted a color-coded system to inform racers and volunteers of course conditions. It is a basic triage system, green being good to go and black being deadly. Last year was definitely a black. This year started at yellow because of the heat and humidity, and was upgraded to red by 11:00 am.
Despite the heat, we still had cups stacked three and four high when it was time to start breaking down our station. We had been told to keep mixing and filling, and therefore had been. Tear-down comes and we have tables full of Gatorade. Of course, in the spirit of conservation and environmentalism, the first step of clean-up was to up-end the tables in the street, spilling Gatorade and cups everywhere, and then just using shovels to put the whole mess in large plastic bags. It made me cringe every time a table went over.
It was a great experience overall, and I got a nifty jacket and official badge out of the deal. Go me with my volunteering self!
Post-marathon meant shower and nap. Then some laundry and reading for the upcoming week of classes. What a domestic life I lead!
This coming week is shaping up to be pretty quiet and will give me a nice break. I have class and work on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I take the train home to Iowa. Thursday is for whatever I want! Friday some shopping and a dentist appointment, then back to the city. Saturday is Wicked with Mom!
Life is just continuing at its unrelenting pace, and I'm along for the ride.
Love to everyone!
~g
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