Day 3 in 45 km
I can but I don’t have to
Scheduled to start 3:15 a z racji odległości musieliśmy wstać o 00:30. Z drobnymi przygodami i taksówką zamówioną w najbardziej wypasionym hotelu z kasynem w mieście dotarliśmy na miejsce. Wystartowaliśmy z lekkim opóźnieniem i pobiegliśmy w mrok i to dosłownie. Do 5 km byłam pierwszą kobietą w stawce. About 6 km from the start, kiedy wybiegliśmy ze strefy hotelowej na drodze było zupełnie ciemno. Dziwiłam się na starcie ludziom z czołówkami, teraz wiedziałam, że byli przygotowani. Trasa prowadziła pod górę do latarni, there you could not see the road anymore, but this beautifully starry sky. I was afraid, that I will run into other runners even more, that we came back the same route after circling the lighthouse.
On a side road, we passed the starting point and ran the other way 5 km to turn and “promenade” go back to Hilton again. We knew the road exactly because we had already walked it several times. From 15 km, I began to seriously consider the possibility of descending the first lap (the organizer gave such an opportunity). Basically on 18 km, I was sure, that I will not continue the race and will be done with 21 km on “the meter”. I ran to the start / finish amid shouts and cheers – byłam drugą kobietą. What was everyone's surprise when I crossed the finish line and said, that I am not running any further. The organizers were very concerned, they asked if everything was alright, they offered a shower and a place to rest.
I was waiting for Maciek, when he ran, I also convinced him to finish the race. Koniec, there was no fanfare, cheers. We got medals, an allotted cup of isotonic drink, banana and water. And after the marathon.
We rested on the beach and waited for the sunrise. I had a moral hangover, but I knew then and I am paying attention now, that I made the right decision. There was no point in getting tired and running. I was tired, not even a month has passed since the last marathon, long journey, many kilometers of sightseeing on foot in the heat and scorching sun and 4 the hours of sleep did their job. The more, that in two weeks we will face the most demanding challenge this year and I still wanted to implement the plan and see a few places in Aruba.
Wróciliśmy do apartamentu spacerem przez plaże, kąpiąc się co kilka kilometrów w turkusowej wodzie. Po południu poszliśmy zwiedzić kolejną plażę Surfside Beach.
Dzień zakończyliśmy z 44,8 km na liczniku. To na ile ten maraton? Ten na Arubie był na 21 km.
