Marathon Man

I did it.


I ran a marathon.
26.2 miles. Officially, it took me 4 hours 7 minutes 0 seconds. Though it took me a while to cross the starting line. Watch the video Mel took. I show up at about 53 seconds after the official start and drop my warmups at Mel's feet. Notice the guy in the front that just took off. He finished in 2 hours 22 minutes - nearly 20 minutes ahead of the 2nd place finisher.

26.2 miles. That comes out to:

• 19 miles of really enjoyable running in a gorgeous venue.
• 2 miles of difficult running.
• 2 miles of hobbling/walking/running due to painful leg cramps.
• 3 more miles of difficult running (just ignoring the pain in my legs this time).
• 0.2 miles of an odd mix of euphoria, confusion, anger, disappointment, pain, frustration, and acceptance.

Euphoria because I knew I actually was going to finish a marathon. Who would have thought?

Confusion because, even though it was clearly stated on my watch, my exhausted mind couldn't figure out if I was going to finish in less than 4 hours.

Anger because I finally realized that I was not going to finish in less than 4 hours.

Disappointment because I hate missing a goal that I've spent three months training for.

Pain because at mile 24 I decided that, since the leg cramps weren't going away, I should just try to ignore them and run anyway.

Frustration because seeing the finish line miraculously (and temporarily) cured the pain in my legs so I could actually run. If the pain could go away like that, then it must have been a mental thing and why couldn't I think my way out of the pain before?

Finally, acceptance. I missed my time goal, but I still finished a marathon.

26.2 miles. My boss, Mark, kept reminding me that the first Marathon ever ran killed the poor guy. Thanks, Mark, for the encouraging words.

And would you believe that I spent at least an hour this evening looking for another marathon to run this summer? I'm convinced I could run one in 3:45:00 or faster, if I take my own special Gatorade mix instead of drinking the crappy HEED they provide at the race. Not that Gatorade makes me run faster, but it does ward off the the leg cramps.

Here's an incomplete list of some of the swag that came with the race:

• 3 different kinds of chapstick
• 3 different kinds of sunblock
• 2 coupons for a free bowl of clam chowder (one at the finish line area and one for later)
• 2 coupons for free beer (or energy drink) - guess which one I opted for
• 1 Wintergreen Lifesaver
• 1 package of moleskin
• 20 pamphlets of things to do in Newport
• 1 mini Clif bar
• 1 Kroger brand hand sanitizer bottle
• 1 package of HEED (High Energy Electrolyte Drink). This stuff is so bad that I thought I put too much water in the mix. I discovered during the race that it really does taste like watered down... something.

Here is a list of marathons or other races I'm considering. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the Clackamas River Runoff on July 13 www.roguemultisport.com/eventcalendar/clackamasriverrunoff.html but I want to do another marathon this summer.

• July 4 Foot Traffic Flat Marathon - http://www.foottraffic.us/
• Aug 9 Crater Lake Marathon - http://www.craterlakerimruns.com/
• Sept 13 Timberline Marathon - http://www.roguemultisport.com/timberline262.html

If you happen to have read this far in the post - please vote for your favorite marathon. If I can get at least 10 people cheering for me I'll run whichever one is the most popular.