That's My Time...: Last Day in Iceland!

I woke up bright and early and made my way down to the starting like of the Reykjavik Marathon.

Truth be told, I didn't exactly do the marathon (I did the 10k), but calling it the Reykjavik Marathon just sounds so much cooler.

I didn't sleep very well the night before since I was nervous about finding the starting line. I should have known there would be a sea of red racing shirts that were headed to the exact place as I was.

So, I followed the masses and waited for it to start.

And we're off!

The course was a relatively fast, and scenic as well since we ran along the water.

What struck me the most though was the number of people who came out in their lawns to cheer us on. Some had costumes, and several were banging pots and pans. But what was the most touching was that so many people set up their own snack tables where they offered food (and wine and beer, too) to complete strangers. It was pretty remarkable! I've seen a lot of spectators cheering people on at races in the US, but never ones who bring out whole spreads of food. I just wish I would've been able to read what all of the spectators' signs said. I mean, I assume they said something along the lines of "go!" and "good luck!," and not "go piss up a rope."

My legs started to feel the miles (or kilometers as the case was) after about the second mile. I suppose that's what happens when you don't really train much. But, the energy of the crowd kept me going.

I crossed the finish line, and my legs felt like jelly.

But I was so happy to cross 'running a race in another country' off my bucket list.

Just like the Olympians...if Olympians wanted to collapse after the second mile.

I celebrated finishing the race at my new favorite place in Iceland, Vinyl. It's this cool vintage record shop/vegan cafe. I had a Thai curry soup that was really delicious. Of course, the beer was quite nice, too. I wanted to buy have the dessert menu, but I somehow pulled it together enough to show some restraint (it was hard!).

For the rest of the day, we walked around Iceland's cultural festival.

We went to museums, listened to outdoor concerts, and watched kids go down the longest slip n' slide I've ever seen. We also met and chatted up some really interesting people: an American soccer coach who was staying at our guesthouse, and an elderly German woman who we shared a table with a coffee shop/restaurant. In her youth, she had been a nurse with the Red Cross in remote parts of Southeast Asia, and she told us all about her adventures traveling around the globe. She was quite witty as well and had us cracking up!