I love traveling with my husband, but it was nice spending the weekend with my family. I’m so lucky to have 3 wonderful, smart sisters. The four of us ran the 2nd Annual San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. This was Kris’s 5th marathon, Karla’s first, Karen’s first ½ and my third ½. Although it was warm and muggy (not the best running weather), we completed our task, indulged in Mexican food and beer, champagne and cookies, and slept well, even me. Despite Karla’s swearing never to run another 26.2, I’ve decided that we will ALL run the full marathon next year. I’m the eldest and I can make these decisions for us. Karen and I will have a chance to train for it while Karla will have a full year to recover and change her mind. By that time, Kris will probably have run a dozen more so I don’t have to convince her.
To those who have never run in these long, and to some, insane races, it is difficult to explain the attraction. It’s the feeling of camaraderie with thousands of people you’ve never met, the sense of accomplishment when you run, or stumble, across the finish line and are handed a monstrous metal (and like this time, an icy wet cloth), and the nerve do things you normally would never even think of doing like chugging an ice cold beer at 11:00 in the morning. At the airport on the way home (a word I use loosely), it was fun seeing all the folks in their marathon T-shirts. If they weren’t wearing the shirt, you could usually spot them by their limp.
During the race, I had the chance to run by the corner where my husband’s parents met. Mary was a waitress at the Post Office Café. He parents did not want her to marry Lloyd because he was 19 years older. So he kidnapped her from work one day. Actually, she went willingly. His brother, Charlie, drove the getaway car. They got married by the JP and two months later had a Catholic ceremony at the cathedral in Galveston.
Seasons are changing, which is evident here at the Arlington Hotel. Al Capone’s car has been removed from the lobby and the kitchen staff is busy building the giant gingerbread house. The wooden frame was put up yesterday and trays of gingerbread and buckets of frosting were brought out. It takes about 4 days to complete; probably because people keep walking by and swiping slabs of gingerbread. Christmas decorations are also going up and the lights on the 20 trees on the lawn are being tested. As if on cue, the weather has finally turned cold.