Iceland 2016 Part 1 - A Preface and A Marathon

The idea of traveling to Iceland has been on my mind for several years.  I once read an article about hot spots to visit for New Years Eve, which included Reykjavik. It sounded so exotic and challenging!   It came up time and again over the years:  read about in blogs, seen on TV shows, met people who went and loved it, the Walter Mitty movie, etc.    I had considered, but never followed-up on, the idea of visiting in order to run the Reykjavik half marathon in the summer.

Last fall my favorite yoga teacher decided to plan a yoga retreat that just happened to start the Monday after the race.   Long story short I ended up not signing up for the retreat, but the idea of finally going to Iceland and doing the race was like a runaway train.  Somewhere along the way I decided I would do the marathon distance for the first time and I officially signed up on my birthday in January.  Having a paid race registration may not be technically enough to force a person to train for a marathon, or visit a new location, but it's a nice (looming) reminder.

One huge advantage of this trip was the inexpensive and short plane ride from Minneapolis to Reykjavik.   I am sure this explains why everyone who learned I was going to Iceland said they knew someone who had (1) just been, (2) was there at the same time, or (3) was going soon.  As I planned our sightseeing itinerary I quickly realized we'd have to come back since the trip was too short.   Knowing it was a place I could easily return to was freeing.

Minnesota is a lot warmer and a lot colder than Iceland - depending on time of year.  Most who aren't familiar with Iceland assume it's colder than Minnesota, but it's weather paradise to me.   For our trip, in mid-August, the temperatures ranged from 50-63F every day.  Heaven.  This was at least 20 degrees cooler than home.   In January the range is 27-35F.

Our flight left Minneapolis late on Thursday and arrived on Friday morning.  This is a tough flight because it's too short to really sleep, but you have to ready for the day.  Getting the car was a major time waster and since we had a manual transmission, poor Bob (who had a nasty cold) had to do all of the driving.  The airport is very small and the landscape reminded me of Hawaii, my personal measuring stick for all volcanic islands apparently. 

Tiny airport - this is the rental car parking lot with the airport building in the back.

We stayed in an AirBnB condo in a suburb of Reykjavik called Kopavogur.   This was intentionally situated on the outskirts of town so we could do our traveling from home base.  The downside was being in a less touristy area, so more difficult access to shopping, restaurants, and we had to drive EVERYWHERE.   The drive into the "city" was about 10-15 minutes. 

Our nice suburban pad.

On Friday I had to get my race packet. Bob dropped me off with my friend Carrie (in town for the race and yoga retreat) and we eventually took a taxi to the expo.  It was at a place called Laugardalshöll Sports Hall, which I tried to say for the taxi driver.  Since I learned German in school and had zero idea about how to pronounce Icelandic words, our attempts at Laugardalshöll caused a snort of laughter from the driver.   I showed him the word on my phone, which is pronounced in a way I cannot reproduce, and we finally made it.  I believe the 1.5km taxi drive cost $26USD.  Did I mention that everything is really expensive in Iceland - other than the cost of getting there?  Seriously.

Carrie and Me - ready as we'll ever be!

 

Carrie and I found Bob and collected our race packets.  The sports hall was large, but the expo was really crowded.   When that was done we managed to contact my friend Monica, who also traveled from Minnesota and was running the half marathon.  We met and then walked to dinner at a pizza place nearby.   After dinner we dropped Carrie off and headed back to the condo - exhausted.

 

Marathon Day:

Bob had rented a bike in order to spectate along the marathon course.  He had it loaded and ready to go on race morning.  We drove into town and he dropped me off as close to the race start as possible.  They had a rather large area blocked off, both for the race and the "Culture Night" festival happening in town later.   I enjoyed my walk to the start as the sun rose.

Picturesque Reykjavik

 

I met Carrie and found a few other MN friends at the start.  Monica and I could start together because the half marathon start time and course is the same as the marathon until about mile 11.

 

Me and Monica, right before the starting gun.

 

I was super nervous, but the time went quickly and suddenly it was time to go.   The first several miles flew by and I was awed by the scenery.  I saw Bob several times and said to him once: "Can you believe this place?"  Here are a few shots from the first 15 miles or so.

Still in the town center. What a nice place to live?!

Beside the path, which we took into the suburban area.

The last section was on a peninsula to the west of the city.

The run was a real struggle for me, starting around mile 18.  Not to say it was "easy" leading up to that, but that was my wall.   Bob rode with me, cheering and chatting, for a long time. This really kept my spirits up!   I realized I may as well take advantage of his company and stopped for this picture during a long low period.

Seriously - can you believe this place?

From miles 18-23ish I STRUGGLED mightily.   This was a tough patch due to an aching back, almost no other people to get energy from, and crushed spirits.  I barely kept up a walking pace  through many miles and a reasonable finishing time slipped away.  I finally decided to take an ibuprofen, something I had avoided since I knew that racing is already hard on your kidneys.  I was willing to risk kidney damage - that is desperate!   I really should have done this sooner because it helped so much. 

When we looped back toward town I sent Bob off to find a bike parking spot near the finish.  Once there were more people, and I knew I was close, I ran more consistently.   The last 2 miles felt effortless, buoyed by the promise of being DONE.   There was a huge crowd at the finish, helped by the Culture Night activities, and I enjoyed running through the finish on my own.   That is one benefit of being in the back of the pack, I guess...

I found Carrie in the finisher's area. I laid down in the grass which is something I fantasized about for the last 6 miles of my run - no kidding.   I revived myself to take a picture with Carrie.  She and I have shared countless awesome race adventures together, including traveling across the country to do Ragnar Relays with complete strangers and our first half iron distance triathlon.   I always enjoy sharing these experiences with her! 

Medal picture or it didn't happen.

 

We found Bob and then cleaned up a bit.    Things in town were really hopping so it was a bit slow getting lunch, but it was really good and necessary.  While waiting for the food I had to get a picture with the best race supporter (and HUSBAND!) a girl could ever dream of.
 

 

Then it was time to go "home" for a shower and nap.  The only disappointment today was that we never really enjoyed the Culture Night festivities.  Bob and I tried to drive back into town for dinner/walking around, but the parking was insane.  Being tired from travel and the day's events I finally called it and we went a suburban restaurant.    I would recommend anyone wanting to take part in the race and Culture Night stay at a hotel in town - at least for a few nights.