A few weeks ago, Erik ran his first full marathon!
Preparations for the marathon took about 2 months. Erik had a training schedule where he ran many miles each week, my preparation was to book a hotel, and make sure his packet was delivered. I selected the Hilton Garden Inn, which overlooked Olympic Park where the Start and Finish lines were located. I was excited that we would be able to walk to and from the race, there would be an indoor pool for Graham & Tess, and complimentary internet for me. On top of all this check-out was noon so Erik would have plenty of time to shower after the race!
When we got to the hotel around 8 p.m. we were disappointed to find that they overbooked and were sending us several blocks away to the Hilton. To compensate, they assured us that they would cover our stay and parking, and refund us what they had been paid. With no other option we accecpted, however things continued to decline. We pulled up to our new hotel, where we saw a sign that said they could not valet park any vehicle over 6'. Our car is slightly taller, so Erik ended up parking near some "Ladies Club" and then giving some random guy money for finding the spot for him (and not to break into our car). As I tried to enter the hotel with the kids, I wove through a maze of construction to find the front desk. When we finally got to the front desk, we realized there was a fraternity full of people also staying there. This meant all of the elevators were packed and there was random noisy throughout. Erik finally got to sleep around 11:30 p.m.
The next morning we were up bright and early, to hike to our car and then drive to a parking garage closer to the starting point. It was a chilly morning, but that was probably ideal for the runners. They took off at 7:04 AM. We were too far for the kids and I to hike back so we decided to have breakfast at the CNN Center and then play in Olympic Park. Erik crossed the finish line a little after 11:00. He said the first seven miles were pretty crowded until the half-marathon runners split off. He also said he ran a really great 22 mile race. Then he realized when he reached Peidmont Park (because we had visited a week earlier)that he still had about 4 miles to go and it would all be rolling hills.
He finished in about 4 hours and 10 minutes. We were all really proud of him. He did a great job, and was still good to go for the rest of the day!
The hotel drama was not quite over though! By the time we got back to our hotel we were not going to be checking out until 12:30, so I stopped by the front desk where they informed me that check-out was actually 11:00 (ugh!) I explained what had happened and we checked out at 12:30.
Preparations for the marathon took about 2 months. Erik had a training schedule where he ran many miles each week, my preparation was to book a hotel, and make sure his packet was delivered. I selected the Hilton Garden Inn, which overlooked Olympic Park where the Start and Finish lines were located. I was excited that we would be able to walk to and from the race, there would be an indoor pool for Graham & Tess, and complimentary internet for me. On top of all this check-out was noon so Erik would have plenty of time to shower after the race!
When we got to the hotel around 8 p.m. we were disappointed to find that they overbooked and were sending us several blocks away to the Hilton. To compensate, they assured us that they would cover our stay and parking, and refund us what they had been paid. With no other option we accecpted, however things continued to decline. We pulled up to our new hotel, where we saw a sign that said they could not valet park any vehicle over 6'. Our car is slightly taller, so Erik ended up parking near some "Ladies Club" and then giving some random guy money for finding the spot for him (and not to break into our car). As I tried to enter the hotel with the kids, I wove through a maze of construction to find the front desk. When we finally got to the front desk, we realized there was a fraternity full of people also staying there. This meant all of the elevators were packed and there was random noisy throughout. Erik finally got to sleep around 11:30 p.m.
The next morning we were up bright and early, to hike to our car and then drive to a parking garage closer to the starting point. It was a chilly morning, but that was probably ideal for the runners. They took off at 7:04 AM. We were too far for the kids and I to hike back so we decided to have breakfast at the CNN Center and then play in Olympic Park. Erik crossed the finish line a little after 11:00. He said the first seven miles were pretty crowded until the half-marathon runners split off. He also said he ran a really great 22 mile race. Then he realized when he reached Peidmont Park (because we had visited a week earlier)that he still had about 4 miles to go and it would all be rolling hills.He finished in about 4 hours and 10 minutes. We were all really proud of him. He did a great job, and was still good to go for the rest of the day!
The hotel drama was not quite over though! By the time we got back to our hotel we were not going to be checking out until 12:30, so I stopped by the front desk where they informed me that check-out was actually 11:00 (ugh!) I explained what had happened and we checked out at 12:30.
1 comment:
the hole sitution would only happen to you guys! give it time it is pretty funny.. lol
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