Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Part 7 - Hill Hell


Now something I haven’t shared with you yet is that I was wearing the Organic Atheletes triatholon shorts to run in. These are my favorite shorts! Not because they are so versatile but because they have “GO VEGAN!” stamped across the butt! It makes me giggle! My big butt makes a perfect billboard for a good cause! And I could just imagine few people could have missed my advertisement! Those of you who know me know I love humor and have a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

Usually, those traits are positive ones. However, sometimes the combination causes me to have an uncontrollable urge to “act up”. For instance, all I wanted to do while wearing these shorts was wave my butt at people and shout “Go Vegan!” I’d look like those bee scouts who find a great pollen source, fly back to the hive then do the ‘butt dance”. These bees will turn in circles but stop and shake their back ends in the direction the other bees should fly to find the pollen.

That would have been me; shake my butt, “Go Vegan!”; turn, shake my butt, “Go Vegan!” ; repeat a hundred times. But unbeknownst to my husband, I took four tranquilizers before we left the hotel so I would ‘behave’. (Not behave like a bee)! J

Another side effect of wearing the shorts (and the singlet which also has “Go Vegan” on the back) is that is caused me to do my very best and at the least keep my posture strong. I know that if I acted tired or covered the course slouching like I was too tired to do this, it would give a bad impression to vegans everywhere. Some people have the idea that vegetarians and vegans are not as healthy as meat-eaters. Which, ask your Drs., is generally false. So even when I was walking I walked brisk, strong and with a small on my face.

Even when I saw the HILL.

I could see it even when I was a full mile away. It was amazing. Not only its grade was impressive but you could see thousands of people on it and approaching it. You could look onto this huge river of people moving up this hill! So I had a long time to imagine my experience on the hill. I told myself, “You don’t have to run it. Walking is fine! Don’t over do it.”

But on the hill is where I met the zombies. So I had to run up the hill after all.

So I’m walking up the hill and there are so many people in funny costumes and some non-costumes. One of the strongest memories of the hill was that the people in various states of undress all seemed in particularly good shape. Strange phenomenon. It was probably that by this point in the run my endorphins were pumping at full force. So you know, everyone probably looked good. Or maybe I had gotten too many whiffs of the funny cigarettes. Whatever, I was enjoying the view.

There were a TON of spectators on the hill. The residents of the hill street had tables set up for refreshments and many of them dragged out their garden hoses and kept steady streams spraying on us as we came by. All of us appreciated it because it was a hot morning and it was just getting hotter! People also filled the front stoops just to watch. Many others were hanging out their windows and would toss trinkets to us or spray us with more hoses or super soakers.

The hill was actually fun!! I picked up my pace and started gaining on this group in front of me. As I passed them, I realized their clothes and faces and hands were covered in blood!! They were ZOMBIES!!!!!!! Their costumes were cute and there were several of them. I asked the head zombie if I could please take their picture. Being such a nice zombie he said sure. So I trotted a few steps ahead so I could get them all in the picture.

They all straightened up and smiled nicely. Hardley like any zombies I have ever met! I said, “Hey, do the scarey hands! Act like you’re chasing me!” and even though they had already covered 5 or 6 hot sticky miles and were currently working hard to get up this killer hill, they put on scarey faces and proceed to ‘chase’ me up the hill.
What a nice group of zombies!

Once I got my shot I turned back around and started up the hill. I was trying to run but I admit it was slow going. I vaguely heard someone say, “Yeah Vegan!” Then “Go Vegan!” I kept running.
“Hey Vegan!”
“Vegan! Turn around.”
“Vegan! Vegan!”
Then finally; “HEY VEGAN LADY!!!!!!!!”
That’s when it finally dawned on me that someone was trying to get my attention.
I turned around and there was this young lady waving at me.
“I love your shorts!!!! Can I get a picture?”
I gave her the thumbs up sign, (because I didn’t have enough breath to speak) and I turned around and paused for a second so she could snap it and then I kept running.

I heard a lot of that on the route:”Yeah! Go Vegan!”

“Go Vegan Go!”

I only heard one, “Go vegan? Oh man, I could never do that!”

I turned around and saw this overweight woman taking a drag off a doobie. Just kidding. I didn’t look to see who said it. I just thought, “It’s easier than you think.”

I should state here that I can not claim to be vegan. But I am definitely vegetarian and lean to vegan eating more and more. I definitely agree with the vegan philosophy.

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