Vecchio Venerdì... I am a Liar

Back in 1997, I ran my second marathon. (The first was in 1996). That is not a lie.

It was pouring down rain the whole night before and the morning of the race. Also not a lie.

I wore a Hefty bag to protect myself from the rain... lightweight, waterproof, and tossable when it's no longer needed. Pretty smart, right? Right. Another truth.

Here is where things get murky in my memory bank...

I could have sworn that I wore that trash bag for the whole race. I have since told people that I wore it for the whole, entire race. "Yeah... one year I ran in a race and it was sooooo rainy, I wore a Hefty bag for the entire race. And it was a marathon!" Unknowingly, I have been spreading this lie around for almost 14 years.

Here is a picture to show you how the family was outfitted for the weather...

my mom and 3 of my stepkids...clearly a rainy day. 

They were such amazing troopers :)

But there is photographic evidence that I was not, in fact, wearing the Hefty bag somewhere after the 20-mile mark...

you can barely see me... just left of center...

white hat, dark shirt, pinkish shorts...

no garbage bag.

And while I am no longer attired in black plastic, I am obviously having the time of my life... HUGE smile plastered on my face (good pacing that day!)... and those are socks on my hands... it was not just wet but also cold...

I met up with these 2 guys somewhere right before the 20...

I know that... it is not a lie.

We ran together until about the 24, at which point I was so excited and had so much energy that I just had to go faster. They were bummed because I had been entertaining them for about a half an hour. I never saw them again, so I'm not sure if they made it with out me :P

So I am a liar.

But now I have made a full confession.

I did NOT run a whole marathon in a Hefty bag.