1:52:50

Saturday was a blur of people, heat and exhaustion.

Comic-Con is one huge event, my friends. I suggest you get more than two hours of sleep before attempting such a feat. Nonetheless we managed to see the "Lost" panel discuss what was going on with the series and spend coveted time on the dealer floor.

With so much to see and not a lot of time, Ace and I went our separate ways to cover more ground. The plan was to meet back up before the 5pm Sony presentation of Ghost Rider and Spider-Man that we were sure to miss most of due to our 7:35pm flight.

I found my favorite artist's booth and promptly bought three of his books. I then managed to get thoroughly frustrated with the sheer number of people and the awesome stupidity of folks who just STOP in the middle of a walkway to gawk at something. I had no plan and was feeling overwhelmed and hungry so I escaped the madness of the convention center and found a little deli/convenience store that had sandwiches on the cheap. As I ate, I made a list of the dealers & events I wanted to check out. I was then able to return with a sense of purpose.

I caught a presentation by another favorite artist of mine: Shag - his first ever at the Comic-Con - that was really cool. He had a power point presentation about his life and influences over the years that helped determine the "Shag Style." Great stuff. I then caught a half hour of a group of TV producers/writers/actors and Jennifer Love Hewitt discussing the future of genre/sci-fi shows on television before it was time to meet up with Ace.

The line for the Sony deal was insane. I waited for about 15 minutes when Ace finally showed up exhausted and exasperated as his phone died and he had no way of contacting me. He suggested we bail at that point and that was fine by me. We were both drained from the day's events.

We opted for a cab back to the airport only to discover that our flight had been delayed by an hour and a half. Armed with this knowledge a half hour earlier, we might have stayed and been able to catch the world's first glimpse at footage from the new Spider-Man film before hopping on our plane. But as it stood, we got to spend three hours at the airport.

We got home around 11:30. I showered then crashed.

Sunday was a blur of people, heat and exhaustion.

I awoke at the unreasonable hour of 6:30am, found my way into my walking clothes and got myself to the parking structure to where the race shuttles would transport me to the starting line. I looked around for folks from Weight Watchers but did not see them. Still tired and sore from the previous day, I now had the pleasure of being immersed in the midst of 15,000 people on what was the hottest morning of the Wharf to Wharf race EVER. I was not in the best of moods.

Here's the breakdown of the race:

8:30:00 - gun goes off - race starts

8:45:17 - I finally cross the starting line

9:03:06 - mile 1 - texting with my lone cheerleader, Ms. Sizzle along the way.

9:06:24 - realized that I forgot deodorant after last night's shower

9:08:47 - now have to pee after following race instructions to drink water before race - five miles to go

9:19:22 - mile 2 - iPod not working too well due to large volumes of people and loud bands placed at regular intervals along the route.

9:22:07 - a tall, bowlegged man with what appears to be an unusually uncomfortable gait breezes by me going uphill

9:23:53 - pissed off that iPod pretty much useless, concerned about my lack of deodorant, and angry at people with hoses along the way spraying people down. I don't have people with hoses when I walk normally - why do I want such a thing now? Bah!

9:42:16 - mile 3 - people pushing strollers and wheelchairs are passing me uphill

9:53:18 - given up on iPod and have decided to "be in the moment" and attempt to enjoy bands along the way. Most of them are very bad. I like three of them and grab a free CD from one group

9:59:49 - mile 4 - am now grateful for the groups of people cheering racers on and thankfully take advantage of the hose people. I am also more conscious of my time and try to walk a bit faster to reach a 15 minute mile speed

10:07:19 - have reached what they call 'the zone' and am not really thinking about walking, peeing, or lack of deodorant. only know that I must go on, cannot stop and there's no going back. interesting...

10:10:09 - mile 5 - decided that I need to kick it up for the final mile. I pick people ahead of me to pass and do so with aplomb: breezed past Cute Tattooed Girl, Albino Guy, Real Estate Sign Guy, Fireman, and the Pink Ladies.

10:17:00 - photo op just down from the finish line - I'll post the pic when I get it!

10:22:50 - crossed the finish line! 1:52:50!

I then got my goody bag/souveneir shirt and waited for over an hour for the bus to take me back to my car... had myself a nice two hour nap and then begrudgingly went to work...

I did it though! I did a race! And I finished! Yay me!

Thanks to those of you who supported me and a special thanks to Ms. Sizzle for cheering me along the way from Seattle!