Postcard from Greece- Day 4-The one where Amie runs on the path of Olympians

I’m running a marathon today. That's the first thought when I open my eyes at 4:30am. Truth be told, it’s the fifth time I’ve woken up tonight. I just can’t seem to stay asleep. Probably has a lot to do with the time change and the new country and the lack of sleep in general.

I didn’t know Greece did daylight savings time change. So on the positive side, I get an extra hour. On the negative side, I spend that hour wide awake, scared I'm going to sleep through my alarm and miss this race I have been waiting for over a year to run. I had set a wake-up call for 5a, and at 4a the automated hotel system called me to wake me up. I call down to the front desk to ask what time it is. They say it’s 5a. I ask, 5a? Really? They think for a moment and say, No madam. It’s 4a. Okay. So back to the bed I go. At 4:30, still awake, I get out of bed and decide to get ready to go. I hop into the shower to wake myself up and start getting dressed. At 5:02a the phone rings with the hotel system telling me it’s time to wake up. Again. I laugh and put my shoes on.

I head down to breakfast and smile as I see everyone in their bleary-eyed excitement. People have on their numbers and all their cold-weather gear. I meet up with Joel and Mary and Dawn, who have plates of food in front of them. I don’t play that though. This is the one meal I reserve myself and don’t partake of the yogurt. It breaks my heart a little, but today is not the day to be sidelined with tummy troubles. I have some bread and some coffee and I’m good to go. We all climb into the shuttle bus that will take us to the starting line. There is laughter and talking and excitement about the day. We take pictures and watch the city start to wake up.

The race starts in Marathon and there is really only one good road to get there from Athens. We drive on the opposite side of the street where we will be running and laugh to watch the numbers get lower as we get closer to the starting line. We hit a small patch of traffic when we get into Marathon and I can start to see runners climbing out of buses and stretching and warming up. Runners get so impatient. Maybe it's just the knowledge that we can walk anywhere, so why wait for traffic. But I have always felt very content sitting on the bus, even in stopped traffic, because I know that for the next 5+ hours I will be running around.

The bus drops us off and I start taking pictures of everything that interests me. I know from experience that if I see something I need to snap it at that moment. It won’t happen again and I am not going to feel bad for taking the extra 30 to get a neat picture. Probably one of the big reasons my time doesn't get better all the time.

There are men peeing on the side of the road in the orchard, but I don’t take pictures of that. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen someone pee on the side of road I would be a millionaire twice over. Joel and I head to the starting line and hit a wall of foot traffic. Everyone is pushing and pulling and trying to get to their start position. Luckily Joel has a good attitude about everything and she keeps me smiling. It takes about 20 minutes to walk through everyone, but we get there. Once we get into our starting choral I look over to my left and see a flame. It’s the MARATHON FLAME! I tell Joel we’re going to go take a picture.

We climb up the steps, take a picture with the flame and I look out over the thousands of people who are there to run. Literally thousands of people. All different countries (we count 7 just from the people around us wiaitng to start) and all different goals in their mind. Everyone just wants to finish. We hear the starting flare and the first wave goes. And twenty minutes later we're crossing the starting line and I head out in a smooth jog. I’m ready.

The course is really hilly. Most of it is uphill and no one is happy about that, although we all were prepared. I notice five people dressed as Spartans, in full regalia, and I applaud their tenacity. It’s hot out here! People stand and watch us by. They all shout “Bravo” and cheer us on, waving olive branches and flowers. I gather olive branches as I run, putting one in my belt, one in my hat and carry one with me. I am smiling and truly enjoying the day. It’s a clear sky, no wind and the sun shines down like it’s almost smiling. I have a great pace going, probably too fast for the hills, but I’m feeling really good. I take pictures of the interesting things I see and the funny things. I listen to my iPod and say my prayers for the people I’m thinking about. It’s in kilometers, so everyone gets two kilometers instead of 1 mile. It’s fun to keep doing the math in my head and it keeps me distracted.

And sooner than I think, we are at 39k, the kilometer I’ve devoted to my father. And like a comforting sign from above, his song pops up from the shuffling iPod. Tears come to my eyes as I give a kiss to the sky, think about what I’ve just put behind me and what I am running towards. In the past 5.5 hours I have forgiven friends, forgiven past lovers, forgiven myself and worked through the frustration of my job. I’ve given thanks to where I’ve been, thanks to the people in my life and thanks to the many blessings I have in my life. I know exactly where I am in the world and I am more present than I have been in a really long time.

I hear the crowd get louder as I approach the stadium. The stadium where the 1896 Olympics finished. Where the 2004 Olympics finished. Where thousands of people before me have crossed and cried and triumphed. I feel the energy of everyone as I step onto the stadium track and finish the .2 of the race. It is over whelming. It’s amazing. It’s powerful and it is by far the coolest thing I have ever done. I feel a sort of elation I have never felt before. It’s mind blowing.

I walk to get my medal and my bag of food goodies. I join the other Marathon Tour runners in the stands and let the awesomeness of what just happened wash over me. I did it.

And now I need a nap.

Postcard from Greece- Day 3- The one where Amie walks around Athens. A lot.

Today I finally get my Greek yogurt! I have been waiting and waiting for this moment. And it is everything I thought it would be. Thick and creamy and I put honey all over it so it is sweet and amazing. I am literally in heaven as I eat this amazing Greek treat. The rest of breakfast is pretty good. Runny scrambled eggs (I steer clear of those) some sausage (also not amazing) and grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. I like! I also am a fan of the pies they have. Spinach pies, cheese pies, cream pies. They are like little piece of tasty heaven.

I'm eating alone as I haven't really met a lot of people yet. I slept most of yesterday. I know that will change though. I finish breakfast, which also includes a piece of chocolate cake with hazelnut spread and a whipped cream thingy with pistachios. I head up to my room and get ready for the day. We are heading out for a bus tour of Athens, including the Acropolis, so I wear jeans and a t-shirt and bring my jacket. Bus picks us up at 9a and there is a big debate over the pink bus. I head over for it since I know it will be easy to find in the throngs of people at the tour sites. I get on the bus and sit next to a friendly looking woman, who I learn is named Carol from Arkansas. She turns out to be a loud seat partner, someone who reminds me a lot of my mother in her ability to talk with everyone about anything. She is also a teacher and is soon making us laugh and all talk with each other.

Our tour guide is an older woman and I wonder how she is going to be able to maneuver the steps. Her accent is think, which is endearing at first but soon becomes hard to follow and I try to stay focused and not tune out. We get to the Acropolis and she tells us we have until 11am to walk around. Thank goodness I have my book. Soon Carol, Ben and I are off on our own with the aid of Rick Steve and his walking tour of the Acropolis. At Bruele Gate (the gate that opens up into the Proplyea at the west end of the Acropilis) we meet up with two women who are traveling together. Joel is a teacher from Maryland and Mary is a pychologist from Conneticut. They join our group and the five of us are soon walking around, taking in the sights and learning from the book. There are tons of people up there already this morning. Lots of tour groups and a few groups from schools. Everyone has a tour guide, but we are sticking with the book. As we enter through the Proplyea up to where the Parthenon stands, we run into Clyde Drexler. I don't know who he is, but I do immediately see him. He is a 7 foot tall, good looking black man in the middle of tourists and school children. When Carol finds out he's "famous" she runs up to him, asks for his picture, and then comes running back to us to ask who he is. Ben, being a guy, knows who he is and all his stats. We are star struck, but don't go bother him. We wave and smile and watch as other groups overtake him for pictures.

We continue our walk around the Acropolis, breaking away from each other and then coming back. We all take tons of pictures and ask lots of questions. We learn about the Greek revolution, the history of Athena's temple and what all the ruins on the Acropolis used to be. There are dogs all over and I ask one of the tour guides what the story is with them. She tells me they are stryas, left by locals, and the government takes care of them. They collar them, give them names, give their shots and neuter them. Then they are let back onto the streets and fed by the locals and the government. I smile at a country that thinks to well of it's animals and understands that they are not a nuisance, just a part of life.

I begin to see that is a lot of the Greek mentality. They just embrace life and everything it gives, the good and the bad. It's the oldest civilization in the Western world and I'm sure that kind of wisdom comes with the age and the history. America tries so hard, all the time. Tries hard to be the best, stay on top of everything and continue to imporive, at any cost. Greece just tries to live the best life it can. I like that.

We finish up with the Acropolis and meet the bus back at the base of the hill. The parking lot is packed now and I am thankful we have a pink bus to find. We all pile in and start talking to each other. I meet a couple from Florida, a couple from Delaware and a mother/daughter couple from Virginia. We chat for a bit and watch the city pass us by. Not very quickly though. The streets are small and trees are low so the driving is slow going. We marvel at the tour bus' ability to get around without hitting anyone. The next stop is the Stadium, where the race finishes on Sunday. We all get out for a quick stop and take a few pictures and some people use the rest room. We meet more people from other buses as we stand there. It is proving to be a great group of very friendly people and I feel completely at home. The stadium is amazing. It is made of marble and can hold 50,000 people. I close my eyes and imagine running through the opening on Sunday. I like to think there will be 50,000 people cheering me on as I finish. The thought makes me smile.

We load back on the bus and head to the Temple of Olypian Zeus and then to the expo. The Temple of Zeus is quite a sight. It is 7 columns and used to house a 70 foot statue of Zeus. The Romans came and added their touch of design (they did that to a lot of the buildings when they took over) and the whole ruins is a park where you can go in an take pictures and walk around. I become the unofficial tour guide, as I have a loud voice and am holding the book. Everyone in the group is really nice and all are awed by the history we are looking at. We walk across the street to the expo to get our packaets. Not much to say about the expo. Sometimes a race expo is filled with samples and stores and things to look at. This was a maze of people and small booths and not much to go with. I end up hanging out with Joel for the whole day, and she and I have a good time. We have the same temperment and outlook on life. She is much more outspoken than I am, and just celebrated her 60th birthday, but we get along quite well. After the expo we start looking at where we want to walk around. We decide on the Plaka, the oldest part of Athens which is now a huge market for anything you can want in Greece.

We get lost getting there. The streets of Athens are winding, not very well marked and don't realy give a direction. We do know that as long as the Acropolis is on our right we are heading to the hotel. So we walk for a bit, ask for directions (One time getting the answer "walk down to the end and turn left. From there ask another person.) We stop into stores and browse for a while, periodically buying what we see. I pull out my spreadsheet of gifts (I have too much time at work) and Joel laughs at me. I shrug, but I know it's the only way to keep myself on track with buying things.

We come across another set of ruins, a library, and walk through that and take pictures. I get yelled at when I sit on one of the marble pieces. But all in all it is a quiet place. It is amazing to be in a bustling city and standing in the middle of ruins that have been there for centuries. It is peaceful, quiet and awe inspiring.

After the library we head to the hotel. Sounds easier than it is. We walk around and find another couple also trying to find their way to their hotel. They are from Canada and are on a six-week tour of Europe. They did the islands of Greece for three days and are leaving on Sunday for Italy. A feel a pang of envy that they have so much time to do that. Someday....

Long story short- we find the hotel. We have been walking for about 5 hours and are both exhausted. But it's the night of the cocktail reception so there is no rest for the running. We head to our rooms and I take a quick shower to was off the traveling. At 6pm I head down to the ballroom where there is an open bar, with Greek wines, German beers and American pop, and waiters walking around with chicken, beef, smoked salmon and spanikopita. Our group meets up, adding in Carols roommate Heather and a woman named Dawn who Mary and Joel know. We meet up with Greg and his wife Ally who are from Florida and are great fun. Always smiling and living a full life. They look like people you want to hang out with.

There is much laughing and eating and drinking. I have white wine and lots of food. Laura, my friend from college is scheduled to meet me at 7pm so I head up to the lobby to find her. 20 minutes later she still hasn't arrived so I think that maybe her plane got delayed or plans changed. I head back down stairs and am met with plates and plates of sweets. The baklava is amazing. Little bite-sized pieces of honey filled heaven. I eat three in one swift motion and have another glass of the white wine. We are all laughing and talking about races. Runners love to talk about their races, what they've done and what they're doing next. I have never heard so much running talk. Everyone is so pasisonate about this hobby we have. I am in a room filled with people who completely understand why I do what I do and why I love it.

There is more to this day- meeting up with Laura and getting lost in Athens at 2am- but for now I leave, off to another adventure. I'll write more soon.

Thanks for listening!