The Agony of Victory

Since revealing my secret mission to run in the Baltimore Marathon I am proud to say I completed it yesterday. My only goal was to finish it, which I did in 5 hrs 42 mins. I guess the Kenyans didn't have to worry about my blazing speed, I understand the winner finished in 2hrs 13mins. and collected 18,000 for his effort. Only the finest power walkers and the most elite of the70+ class beat me. I ran the whole 26.2 only slowing down for water, I followed a training guide to get me there, and the longest run in it was 18 miles, so after mile 18 it was all new ground for me. Baltimore was great, every neighborhood had a cheering section some complete with live music others passed out water, fruit, gummybears ect. Even in the rundown slum areas the winos were cheering, one proclaimed only a couple of miles to go at mile 14. I had been pretty nervous about the whole thing for some time but once I got going I felt good. Somewhere around mile 20 I started to ware out badly and feel sore but I managed to overcome it, I guess it was mind over body beyond that and my determination to finish got me the rest of the way. All in all a great experience. Kirst and Dan put up with me for some time as I held my training runs as a priority over a lot of things, they came and cheered me on anyway. It was great to see Missy at the finish line as well and I really appreciate her being there for me. Mom was a great inspiration,knowing all the miles she has logged over the years and knowing she and Dad were following me closely from Fla. Now that its over I am sore all over and only plan to watch football and drink beer today. One notable thing I learned yesterday was, Marathoners come in all shapes and sizes. I always thought everyone would be reasonably slim and have decent posture and form, not so, I ran several miles with a very short nice Hawaiian women who had to tip the scales at 200+. Near the end of the race 2 guys lumbered past me like I was standing still, forget the fact that I practically was, but they both had to weigh 300 each. Everywhere I looked I couldn't help but notice my vision of being in marathon shape couldn't have been more wrong.