Sunday, Jun. 20, 2010
10:29 p.m.
<< [ Vegas - Saturday, Day 2 (continued) ] >>
I stopped, at some point, to look at the cliffs. Smooth, red cliffs with tiny holes the size of people in them. Later, on the bus ride after the marathon, I tell Manager Leo that I like the smooth holes in cliffs. Later, I tell her that I pretend there are people living in them, and that sometimes they pop out, like in cuckoo clocks. Later, she laughs, then adds, "Amanda, you're so funny," unsure of what else to say.
Me and my big mouth. Me and my lack of a filter.
I pass a man who passes me again in a blue sweater. He says, "My toes are swollen, so I can't go any faster than this." I tell him my knee is fucked up and he says nothing, since my excuse is better than his.
A the very end, the very tail end, after I've stopped twice to sit and stretch my back (The Owner says I run like a swimmer, my shoulder around my ears. I tell her, no duh, I work in your swim school) I see photographers clustered together, and what looks like a finish line. I jog, and I jog til the end. A man says, "That's right, finish strong."
Finishing. I'm going to finish.
The Owner and Manager Taurus jog out to meet me. Owner says, "We're not going to jog you in--you're going to finish this on your own." I am too distant to understand anything other than that I should keep running.
I pass the finish line--the team and one other person are waiting, and I hear the announcer say, "The last runner from Local Town just came in!"
A co-runner hands me a cookie and a banana and tells me to pose by the finish line. I have no comprehension of what is going on, and it reflects in the picture--it looks like I am stoned.
Owner runs to me and says, "I'm so sorry Amanda, but we have to leave right now--if we don't, we'll miss the shuttle and have to wait another two hours to get back." So I jog to the shuttle, and I sit next to Manager Leo. Owner and Strangers sit behind me.