Given my work schedule and how I can't deal with working up exceedingly early to go to the gym (having attempted that at least twice in recent years), I was always running after work. So, I would bring the stock pot with me and run on the treadmill with it. Yes, it was as strange as you can imagine. Knowing the kinds of reactions I would get, I made sure to put a couple of signs on the treadmill each time, giving a brief explanation, inviting conversation/questions, and promoting the fundraising effort. It was all the more necessary on those few occasions that I ran *in full costume* on the treadmill. I was recognizable beforehand (since I'm always training for another marathon -- running for typically 1 hour or more on the treadmill during heavily trafficked times), this certainly upped that -- for good or ill.
The day finally arrived. The weather was absolutely PERFECT. (It was about 45-50 degrees, mostly cloudy, and only an intermittent slight breeze. Ideal for me to not overheat nor need to attempt to douse myself at water stops.) The camaraderie of everyone making record attempts was wonderful. Unfortunately, I didn't have my phone with me to have any photos taken, so the various pics that others took with me, I have never seen since. (Shame -- I really wanted the photo of my as a chef, one person as a giant wooden spoon, and another dressed as a lobster -- how perfect?) I couldn't have asked for more. I was confident in my training generally, but was unclear as to just how much the stockpot would drain my energy -- having never done more than about 10 miles or so with it during training.
The race itself was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for more from the crowd. Nearly the entire length of the course is packed with people (only New York City sports more spectators, I think), and there were literally thousands of them cheering specifically for me: "Go, Chef!" It was a huge lift to my spirits.
Alas, despite my arms being fine (I figured out a decent way of handling the pot, and shifting it every few minutes between hands), the sheer fact of having that much extra weight being carried and not being able to swing my arms per normal took its toll. I slowed enough to recognize when my goal time was out of reach. I hit the wall late in the race. There were times when I got enough of a boost from the crowd to start running again, but it was more to acknowledge them than anything else -- since the record was already gone.
I wound up rebuilding enough reserves so that I could run (though not full speed) the last kilometer. There was no way I wasn't going to be running when passing Buckingham Palace and across the finish line. And fortunately, there were few enough others at that moment that I was shown on the big screen at the finish line and noticed by the commentator -- a few good-natured quips and comments about the costume. Despite being an introvert who usually shies away from being the center of attention, it was fantastic to be there for about 15 seconds as I approached the finish line.
In the end, I missed my goal time by approximately 20 minutes. But I was a Six-Star finisher.
Despite that, I was one of the finishers who made it into some of Abbott's posted Facebook videos:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=2172309489691023 (about :45 in)
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=288792248672597 (about :25 in)
Several weeks afterwards, I was even featured on Abbott's website in a written interview that had been conducted via phone:
https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/news-media/latest-news/six-stars-and-a-stock-pot/
But that was only my first attempt. My second attempt at breaking a record less than 6 months later worked out very differently.
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