So, I did it! I propelled myself for 26.2 miles and managed to stay, not only upright, but running for most of it. My knee was not happy about it and put up some significant resistance in the middle which necessitated my stopping every half mile or so to stretch, from about mile 18 to 23, which meant that it took me FOREVER to get done, but that's okay with me, because at about mile 23 I realized that I was going to finish that thing and suddenly the Ability Fairy sprinkled magic dust on me and I finished the last 3 faster than any of the previous 10. Go figure.
I finished before the blind guy, but after the juggler and the guy who jumped rope the whole way. I finished behind Tom, for whom this was his twenty third marathon in this city, but ahead of the guy from California who was logging his 756th marathon (seriously, not kidding). I finished ahead of the Garmin girl, who could not get that thing to work and spent miles stopping other runners and spectators to see if they could help her fix it. She finished crying, which probably was out of a combination of frustration and relief. Technology does have a down side occasionally. I finished behind everyone else in my training program. But, according to the guy (who has done at least one marathon in every single state and is now setting out to hit races in all the continents) I ran with along the river (miles 9-12), DFL (dead f-ing last) is a whole lot better than DNF (did not finish) which is obviously better than DNS (did not start). Amen.
I met a lot of people along the way, which was awesome. Running is a pretty social sport, for something seemingly so solitary. People were just awesome, runners and spectators alike. It was all just friendly and happy, no snarkiness anywhere. Having friends come out and cheer me on along the way was super huge. Next time I think I'll make my family come, in fact, I think I'll make them come run with me....that would have been even better. There was definitely a "wall" and it felt like something out of Dr. Zhivago....cold barren wasteland with no end in sight, only it's all clearly in your head, which is kind of a freaky thing. I did a little snivelling in there somewhere, feeling very disheartened about the pain and my inability to push through it. But again, that's okay, 'cause I kept going.
Sore muscles and achey joints notwithstanding, it was an amazing, fabulous, exhilirating experience....and I would love to do it again. (Just don't tell my family I said that!)
I finished before the blind guy, but after the juggler and the guy who jumped rope the whole way. I finished behind Tom, for whom this was his twenty third marathon in this city, but ahead of the guy from California who was logging his 756th marathon (seriously, not kidding). I finished ahead of the Garmin girl, who could not get that thing to work and spent miles stopping other runners and spectators to see if they could help her fix it. She finished crying, which probably was out of a combination of frustration and relief. Technology does have a down side occasionally. I finished behind everyone else in my training program. But, according to the guy (who has done at least one marathon in every single state and is now setting out to hit races in all the continents) I ran with along the river (miles 9-12), DFL (dead f-ing last) is a whole lot better than DNF (did not finish) which is obviously better than DNS (did not start). Amen.
I met a lot of people along the way, which was awesome. Running is a pretty social sport, for something seemingly so solitary. People were just awesome, runners and spectators alike. It was all just friendly and happy, no snarkiness anywhere. Having friends come out and cheer me on along the way was super huge. Next time I think I'll make my family come, in fact, I think I'll make them come run with me....that would have been even better. There was definitely a "wall" and it felt like something out of Dr. Zhivago....cold barren wasteland with no end in sight, only it's all clearly in your head, which is kind of a freaky thing. I did a little snivelling in there somewhere, feeling very disheartened about the pain and my inability to push through it. But again, that's okay, 'cause I kept going.
Sore muscles and achey joints notwithstanding, it was an amazing, fabulous, exhilirating experience....and I would love to do it again. (Just don't tell my family I said that!)
p.s. I beat Meredith Viera by 3 minutes, and Al Roker by about an hour. Ha! ;)
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