Marine Corps 26.2

On October 25th, Joe completed his sixth marathon: The Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.

The girls and I ventured into the city with Joe to cheer him on. We left bright and early Sunday morning at 6:00. We drove the van to the metro station and rode the train into the city.

Thankfully, the ride was uneventful, although we did almost get on the wrong train, going the wrong direction at one point.

Joe and the girls at the start line.

After cheering Joe and the other 35,000 runners on at the start line, we headed for mile marker 10 where we would wait to see him again.

On our way to mile marker 10, we spent a long time on the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The weather was beautiful and the girls loved watching the planes overhead, the cars below, and racing each other in front of the stroller.

We saw Joe at mile 10 and again at mile 16 with the girls shouting "Go, daddy, go," and "Good job, dadda," at each stop. Before we saw him at mile 16 we met up with a family friend, Eric. He came down to watch Joe in the race and hang out with the girls and I. After mile 16, we headed back over the Arlington bridge, with Eric pushing this time, to go to our next rendezvous point.

By this time, Xandra and Theia were tired of walking, so they both rode in the stroller. We estimated the combined weight of the stroller at this point to be over 100 lbs.

We rode the metro to mile marker 23 where Aliyah briefly got out of the stroller to say hi to Joe and Trisha ran in the race with Joe for about 20 steps. After retreating back to the sidelines and putting Liyah back in the stroller we sprinted to catch Joe at the finish line.

All of our hurrying was for naught because we missed Joe at the finish. It was impossible to get there with the 35,000 runners and all of their fans congregating at or near the finish. We did eventually find Joe. He finished in 3:55, just one minute off of his personal best.

We had a few snacks, changed some diapers, took Xandra potty in the single grossest porta-potty I've ever seen in my life, and then headed home for naptime and pizza. There's been no talk of another marathon, but I know it's only a matter of time...

Next up on the running schedule: Thanksgiving Day 10K Turkey Trot.