Fifth marathon in the books. Woohoo! Sorta...
Let's just say, #5 did not go as planned. And we all know I'm a master planner (to a fault) when it comes to certain aspects of life, so imagine the mental fiasco when 4 months of training hardly yielded the expected outcome. I lined up at the start on Sunday with 22,000 runners healthy, confident, completely calm, and so excited. This was my year, I could feel it. Yet I once again found myself on the other side, with only the mastery of a racing skill that continues to plague me: disappointment. I will consent to taking into account the 96% humidity, 100% rain, and 55 degree starting temp, yet I will not surrender to excuses. Fact is, no later than mile 8 found me in a stomach-cramping, soaking-wet panic, whose only sustenance was the occasional inspirational Chuck Norris poster (i.e. "When Chuck Norris hits a wall, it falls down.") and 18.2 miles left to go. That was all she wrote. Quite depressing, really, but then, I figure there's equally humility and lessons to be learned, moments to be thankful for, and always, always, some good adventure.
Moving on... fun facts from the weekend:
47,880,000 = estimated number of calories that were burned during the race
250,000 = number of cheering spectators
8,537 = gallons of Gatorade consumed
1,575 = number of traffic cones used to mark the course
18,522 = number of bananas eaten at the post-race breakfast
2:07:04 = marathon time posted by the winner, Ethiopian Bekana Daba, who set a personal, course, and state record
2 = number of amazingly supportive (and armed) fans who tagged along, got no sleep, and showed up over and over in the rain to encourage a drowned rat :)
All I can say now... "Worst Parade Ever" (coined from the guy with the cardboard sign at mile 9)
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