Once the training is complete, the only thing left to do before the race is to carbo-load.

According to some dismal science I read, I had to eat 700grams of pasta the night before the race. That’s a shit-load of pasta.

In addition because eating large amounts of fats etc, could really upset your stomach – we will not explain how – it’s really bone dry pasta.

Some people can eat tomato sauce, but too much acidity causes me heart burns, so I had to be very cautious. Others can eat cheese, but well I am from the southern mediteranean so being lactose intolerant is a real downer.

But this is Greece, and this is my family and when we do food we don’t go half way.

Notice the massive bowl of pasta. In front of you, you’ll see the spring rolls. You can also see the meat sauce and tomato sauce to accommodate all possible pallets. You will also notice the salad. You do not see in the foreground the superb home made pizza  and cheese pies…

You’ll also notice that there are a lot of people there. In fact my cousin Maragarita whose husband Michalis inspired me to do the Marathon threw this soiree together. Her mom and dad were there, her sister and her entire family, her brother and her two sons and her maid of honor with her husband who was also running this marathon. It was really awesome to hang out with everyone.

The three marathon runners (Michalis – Margarita’s husband, Michalis –Sofia’s husband and I) had this look of terror on our faces. I, of course, full of bravado reassured them that since we had completed the training there was nothing to fear.

What was especially cool was that we also got to celebrate my Dad’s birthday, something I realized I hadn’t done in person in almost  20 years. My son got into the act and kept blowing out the candles. We had to light the candles half-a-dozen times because he kept wanting to blow them out.

At some point in time, Michalis who had completed the Athens Classic Marathon last year, brought out the finisher medal. The intent was to motivate me by showing how cool a reward I would get. I, of course, have deep suspicions about these things. You do not touch medals until you acquire them. If you touch them before hand bad, bad things happen. So there was this awkward moment where I looked at him with horror …

And in the background hidden from view is my son and his second cousins who were playing for hours like lunatics.

My only regret is that I was very stressed about the run the next day and could not just chill out and enjoy the family fun.