Because what could be more fun than standing around in a downpour while wearing a Hefty bag?

It would probably be more fun if it were really windy, too. Like a monsoon or some such thing.

And I'm sure it would be even more fun if you were wearing your Hefty bag in that windy-ass downpour and running.

Okay...so they're wearing ponchos not Hefty bags...

but they are definitely having FUN...am I right?

Giraffy from 365 Days of Awesome took this iconic picture...it's gone viral. I am sure because it so perfectly shows what CIM 2012 was like. For the first few hours anyway.

This past Sunday was the 30th running of the California International Marathon in Sacramento. Also this past Sunday was some of the worst weather northern California has seen in a long time. So inconvenient. As I mentioned the other day, I was so glad I wasn't running.

That phrase was repeated over and over and over on the drive up. I had dragged my non-running, non-morning person butt out of bed at 4:30, left the house by 5 to meet up with friends by 6 so we could get to Sacramento by 8...in the worst weather I've driven in in ages. Visibility was crap. I think we hydroplaned more than we didn't. It was pretty exciting. And the whole time, all 4 of us kept repeating ... I'm so glad I'm not running today.

I need to mention that we aren't all a bunch of wusses. Aron (far left in pic below) and Jessica (black jacket) had run in similar conditions the day before...in the North Face Endurance Challenge. The only real difference is that those two ran farther (41 and 31 miles respectively) and in the mud. And Page (glasses) had served as their support person...standing out cheering and handing them food and dry clothing in the muddy pouring rain and on a sprained ankle. Looks like I was the only wuss. Owning it.

We got to Sacramento and decided to aim for the 10-mile mark as our first cheering platform, thinking that we'd be there in time to see RoseRunner (who was gunning for a sub-3) fly by. We ended up parking farther away than we had hoped and walked up a big hill to the course. Woe is us...we had to walk for a couple of minutes in the rain :( Actually we were all laughing and joking around and having a great time...even Aron and Jessica who had really stiff, sore legs...and Page who was wearing a massive ankle brace...oh, and me who was wearing f*cking flipflops (at the time I thought that was a genius move so I wouldn't get my shoes all wet...not so genius...very slippery and cold).

Here is what we saw near the 10-mile mark as we waved and clapped and screamed things like...

GO, RUNNNNERRRRRRRRZZZZZZ!!!!!
Looking strong, runners!!!!!
Way to go, people!
blah, blah, blah...

And yes, I did wear the Hefty bag.

These runners were ahead of the 3:05 pacer and ran past shortly after we got there.

Note orange cone in the background and puddle size adjacent to the curb... 

this comes into play just a few photos down.

RoseRunner (bright pink shirt) ran past right after the 3:05 pacer...

and was so fast (3:11 finish time) that we never saw her again.

Ignore the excited white oblong thing protruding from the right side of the picture.

The Faster Bunny (with wet bunny ears and red shorts) dashed by near the 3:35 pacer.

Around this time we saw a whole bunch of people we knew...

Arielle from Nuun

Sarah OUaL

Cate

Kristin

Sesa

I can't remember everyone...I'm sorry...

blogfriend fail :(

Page was then attacked by a banana!

The rain was off and on crazy heavy and REALLY F*CKING CRAZY heavy. And the wind gusted a lot. Any of the race recaps you might read that say...Oh, conditions weren't all that bad...well, those people were in la-la land or so in their Zone they didn't know reality. More power to them for hanging on to that delusion, but seriously, it was BAD out there.

Note orange cone on curb (left side of photo between first 2 runners). 

Same orange cone seen in a previous photo.

Note how much deeper and more expansive the puddle had gotten.

20 minutes of torrential rain will do that.

And it got worse by the time we left the area 10 minutes later.

Trying to get back to the car was pretty hilarious. So much rain had fallen in the 30 minutes we had spent cheering that the gutters had turned from little trickling rivulets to deep and wide raging rivers! I could easily wade through in flipflops (maybe kind of genius after all?) but my companions were in no shape to ford these massive waterways. It took a little walking around to find the path of least resistance back to the car...but we made it. Now pressed for time, we raced as best we could on side streets filled with puddles lakes to our next staging area...near Mile 19.

Sadly, we missed speedy RoseRunner :(  But we did see some other friends!

The Faster Bunny (still in red shorts and still with soggy ears)

bounds along in close proximity to the 3:35 pace group.

SF Road Warrior (red tank and black knee socks) waved, smiled 

and proclaimed CIM 2012 the 'hardest run of my life!' 

And Kristin!

aka Miss Smiley :)

We hung out at this spot for about 30 minutes and then headed toward the finish. We scored great parking right next to The Cathedral Building (if you're ever going to spectate CIM, remember this) in a cheap lot and high-tailed it to the Capitol Building. We arrived around the same time as the 3:15 pace group and missed RoseRunner again. Girl is just too dang fast.

At around 10:30 the rain stopped and by 11 it was starting to be sunny. Sort of adding insult to injury in a way. Hey, run a marathon in a freaking monsoon and when you're almost done it will suddenly become a beautiful day! Enjoy :)

We saw friends again :) I would have more pictures if the little reset button on my phone actually functioned like the camera shutter button I kept mistaking it for :P 

Sesa!

Courtney (waving) and Average Runner (staying focused).

You can see blue sky in the top right of the photo!

As soon as the 4:35 pace group went past, we collectively felt done and ready to head home. The drive home was way less exciting than the drive up...which was good because by that time the downside of my 4:30 wake-up call was beginning to take effect.

Interestingly, while I was so glad I wasn't running in that mess, I did experience what my friend and I are calling Situational Stockholm Syndrome wherein, despite the adversity...or maybe because of it...I now find myself really wanting to run a marathon.

Kudos to all who even toed the line on Sunday...you are so brave. I wish I'd been able to see all the people I know and know of! I am so proud of you for getting out there. I was pulling for you and cheering for you even if I didn't see your actual body run past me!

Maybe we should all run CIM next year. The weather will probably be perfect.