A distant sound, a faint familiar calling-- Did I hear it right?
I slowly opened my right eye to take a peek at my rather bright mobile phone. It shone like a burning moon in the black of the night. It announced what I was fearing the most... IT WAS 5AM ALREADY ! Never had I hated my mobile phone more . I quickly fumbled to silence it and went back to getting all comfortable again. Suddenly-- my whole life swam in front of my eyes. It was not any ordinary 5AM!!! It was the 9th of October,2005 and we were in Harish/Bharati's cozy home.
The previous day had been pretty eventful. Woke up early morning to drop Harish and Bharati at the Amtrak station. They were fleeing the country leaving the house to us! OK-jus' kidding. They were on their way on a day's trip to Seattle. Started driving towards downtown and finally we did see the brimming banquet halls of the Hilton to pick up the welcome packets.Thanks to a few wrong turns here and there aided by Harish's portable GPS system-the junkiest of junks ;-) Seemed to be dumber than any gadget I had come across which doesn't say much really.
Got back in time to pick up a friend @ the airport-- Got back home-- Cooked a hearty South Indian meal, for the experts advised a good healthy carbohydrate meal before it. We poured over our itemized items, our meeting points, our backup plans and our emergency routes.
Oct 8th,10PM: After much deliberation as to whether coffee was good at that point of time in the night, we settled in for tea instead and went straight up to bed.
10.10PM: Checked in on some last minute details. Everything necessary for the next morning was neatly laid out much to Manu & Sriks chagrin.
10.30PM: Sprawled all over the floor was Sriks- snoring beyond the barriers of the thick comforter.
10.45PM: Finished our last minute talks and went to sleep setting the alarms for 5AM.
Oct 9th, 2AM: Harish/Bharati came back and rang the door bell.
Oct 7th, 9.40PM: We arrived at the airport about an hour early and I will have to point out here that our home is just a stone's throw away from the airport. Why so early???- don't even get me started on that! Our flight was unevenful except for the occassional purring of the airplane engines. The flight touched ground at 11.20PM. Headed outside and the cold NorthWest windchill cut us deep to the bone. Oh Yes- it felt good....
OMG, was it already 5AM on the 9th of October?? I peered incessently at the mobilephone aka the reliable clock/alarm. It was indeed, for it showed me what I had been patiently waiting for the last 6 months. It was time to put the car into gear. I could hear Manu's soft snoring beside me. I gently touched his shoulder and he shot up like a jack in the box. His eyes gave away the knotted feelings he probably felt. Our looks emphazised what the day meant. Like a zombie, I went in and gently woke up Harish. He sat up wide eyed- 'Is it already time?' he asked.
5-5.45AM: We showered, got ready.
6AM: Last minute checks and ahem...visits to the restrooms
6.10AM: BANG on target... Left home.
The roads were deserted but for an occassional headlight. It was 51F and a cool breeze had set in. All of us were lost in ur own thoughts. Harish- if he would be able to reach there in time, Manu- what the day had in store for him, Sriks- If he had made the right decision and as for me, I was just hoping to be there when push came to shove.
6.40AM: As we neared downtown, the sky sprouted warmer hues. Mmmm.. that was interesting-- sunrise wasn't supposed to be until later. We took an exit to go into downtown and suddenly we saw cars lining up quite confused about which street to take. People were asking for directions. While the contemplation was still on amongst us, Harish slammed the breaks and asked us to hop out. As we did so, we saw a few others do the same. We got down and just followed a bunch of people to where they were headed. It was finally becoming a reality...
We walked past people with kids, without kids, youngsters and elderly alike. Our eyes skimmed the crowd for Harish and Sriks ( henceforth known as 'the boys') who were supposed to meet us at the pre-decided location. Manu had went on ahead while I quickly fell behind. My eyes finally spotted the boys. We quickly went on together inching our way through the maze of people. As we went around the corner... it was like we were in a Bee-Hive. A faint buzz greeted us and it was all brightly lit. We looked up and it read " 2005 PORTLAND MARATHON"
There we were finally, at the place each of us had dreamt, anticipated, feared and revered in the last 6 months.
6.45AM: Manu had joined the pace group he was planning to run with.
6.47AM: The Boys and I spotted him
6.50AM: We managed to wade our way through the enormous amount of participants to reach him
6.55AM: A few pre-marathon shots to etch this moment forever on paper
6.59AM: A huge hug and good luck to my beloved
7AM: The Official start of the race -- I saw him moving slowly, a smile, a wave and he was gone. I was already impatient to see him in about 20 min at mile 2.
My eyes followed him until I could see no more. Somehow, I was contented to see him follow his dream although reports of marathon injuries kind of made me edgy. His approach to this marathon, his first one ever, was something akin to probing unfmiliar territory. He insisted on training alone ably assisted by a first marathoner's guide and ofcourse buddy Sriks. He emanated confidence along the way and nonetheless in me. He saw one too many setbacks but still emerged stronger everytime.
His sustenance and motivation to go through something as gruelling as this showed in his every bone that cold fall morning. It turned out to be a beautiful day and almost 6 hours had passed. A knee injury at mile 18 didn't deter him from finishing the last 8.2miles. The last 8.2miles hit him worse than a load of bricks I heard later.
1.05PM- his feet moved across the finish mat. He had officially finished the marathon
Portland & 1.05PM is something we will remember for a very long time I guess.It took us almost 20 minutes to find him. God bless mobilephones ! And instantly out of nowhere, my eyes found him. Quickly darted through the crowd to see him wearing his finisher's medal and t-shirt. I searched his face and there it was-his zeal to run and finish he did ! That said it all... I just savoured the moment.
As to Manu- Salut ma coeur (*resonably* translated as 'hats off my love') for all perseverence you exhibited.
Sriks- You were as supportive and snoring as ever. We are eagerly awaiting to see you cross the finish mat in about a month AND am waiting to document your marathon experience
(buckle up buddy-- the guns are trained on U )
Harish/Bharati- Wouldn't have been this memorable without your love & support.
Thanks guys !
I slowly opened my right eye to take a peek at my rather bright mobile phone. It shone like a burning moon in the black of the night. It announced what I was fearing the most... IT WAS 5AM ALREADY ! Never had I hated my mobile phone more . I quickly fumbled to silence it and went back to getting all comfortable again. Suddenly-- my whole life swam in front of my eyes. It was not any ordinary 5AM!!! It was the 9th of October,2005 and we were in Harish/Bharati's cozy home.
The previous day had been pretty eventful. Woke up early morning to drop Harish and Bharati at the Amtrak station. They were fleeing the country leaving the house to us! OK-jus' kidding. They were on their way on a day's trip to Seattle. Started driving towards downtown and finally we did see the brimming banquet halls of the Hilton to pick up the welcome packets.Thanks to a few wrong turns here and there aided by Harish's portable GPS system-the junkiest of junks ;-) Seemed to be dumber than any gadget I had come across which doesn't say much really.
Got back in time to pick up a friend @ the airport-- Got back home-- Cooked a hearty South Indian meal, for the experts advised a good healthy carbohydrate meal before it. We poured over our itemized items, our meeting points, our backup plans and our emergency routes.
Oct 8th,10PM: After much deliberation as to whether coffee was good at that point of time in the night, we settled in for tea instead and went straight up to bed.
10.10PM: Checked in on some last minute details. Everything necessary for the next morning was neatly laid out much to Manu & Sriks chagrin.
10.30PM: Sprawled all over the floor was Sriks- snoring beyond the barriers of the thick comforter.
10.45PM: Finished our last minute talks and went to sleep setting the alarms for 5AM.
Oct 9th, 2AM: Harish/Bharati came back and rang the door bell.
Oct 7th, 9.40PM: We arrived at the airport about an hour early and I will have to point out here that our home is just a stone's throw away from the airport. Why so early???- don't even get me started on that! Our flight was unevenful except for the occassional purring of the airplane engines. The flight touched ground at 11.20PM. Headed outside and the cold NorthWest windchill cut us deep to the bone. Oh Yes- it felt good....
OMG, was it already 5AM on the 9th of October?? I peered incessently at the mobilephone aka the reliable clock/alarm. It was indeed, for it showed me what I had been patiently waiting for the last 6 months. It was time to put the car into gear. I could hear Manu's soft snoring beside me. I gently touched his shoulder and he shot up like a jack in the box. His eyes gave away the knotted feelings he probably felt. Our looks emphazised what the day meant. Like a zombie, I went in and gently woke up Harish. He sat up wide eyed- 'Is it already time?' he asked.
5-5.45AM: We showered, got ready.
6AM: Last minute checks and ahem...visits to the restrooms
6.10AM: BANG on target... Left home.
The roads were deserted but for an occassional headlight. It was 51F and a cool breeze had set in. All of us were lost in ur own thoughts. Harish- if he would be able to reach there in time, Manu- what the day had in store for him, Sriks- If he had made the right decision and as for me, I was just hoping to be there when push came to shove.
6.40AM: As we neared downtown, the sky sprouted warmer hues. Mmmm.. that was interesting-- sunrise wasn't supposed to be until later. We took an exit to go into downtown and suddenly we saw cars lining up quite confused about which street to take. People were asking for directions. While the contemplation was still on amongst us, Harish slammed the breaks and asked us to hop out. As we did so, we saw a few others do the same. We got down and just followed a bunch of people to where they were headed. It was finally becoming a reality...
We walked past people with kids, without kids, youngsters and elderly alike. Our eyes skimmed the crowd for Harish and Sriks ( henceforth known as 'the boys') who were supposed to meet us at the pre-decided location. Manu had went on ahead while I quickly fell behind. My eyes finally spotted the boys. We quickly went on together inching our way through the maze of people. As we went around the corner... it was like we were in a Bee-Hive. A faint buzz greeted us and it was all brightly lit. We looked up and it read " 2005 PORTLAND MARATHON"
There we were finally, at the place each of us had dreamt, anticipated, feared and revered in the last 6 months.
6.45AM: Manu had joined the pace group he was planning to run with.
6.47AM: The Boys and I spotted him
6.50AM: We managed to wade our way through the enormous amount of participants to reach him
6.55AM: A few pre-marathon shots to etch this moment forever on paper
6.59AM: A huge hug and good luck to my beloved
7AM: The Official start of the race -- I saw him moving slowly, a smile, a wave and he was gone. I was already impatient to see him in about 20 min at mile 2.
My eyes followed him until I could see no more. Somehow, I was contented to see him follow his dream although reports of marathon injuries kind of made me edgy. His approach to this marathon, his first one ever, was something akin to probing unfmiliar territory. He insisted on training alone ably assisted by a first marathoner's guide and ofcourse buddy Sriks. He emanated confidence along the way and nonetheless in me. He saw one too many setbacks but still emerged stronger everytime.
His sustenance and motivation to go through something as gruelling as this showed in his every bone that cold fall morning. It turned out to be a beautiful day and almost 6 hours had passed. A knee injury at mile 18 didn't deter him from finishing the last 8.2miles. The last 8.2miles hit him worse than a load of bricks I heard later.
1.05PM- his feet moved across the finish mat. He had officially finished the marathon
Portland & 1.05PM is something we will remember for a very long time I guess.It took us almost 20 minutes to find him. God bless mobilephones ! And instantly out of nowhere, my eyes found him. Quickly darted through the crowd to see him wearing his finisher's medal and t-shirt. I searched his face and there it was-his zeal to run and finish he did ! That said it all... I just savoured the moment.
As to Manu- Salut ma coeur (*resonably* translated as 'hats off my love') for all perseverence you exhibited.
Sriks- You were as supportive and snoring as ever. We are eagerly awaiting to see you cross the finish mat in about a month AND am waiting to document your marathon experience
(buckle up buddy-- the guns are trained on U )
Harish/Bharati- Wouldn't have been this memorable without your love & support.
Thanks guys !
