Nov 24 2008
“Smile people. You signed up for this!”
Yesterday, I accomplished something that I wasn’t sure I’d ever do. And to be honest, I’m not so sure I want to do it again. I completed the Philadelphia Marathon with thousands of others, and boy, am I ever sore.
I decided to do the marathon without really training for it. I haven’t missed a day of running in 6 and 1/2 years, so I figured I wouldn’t be too bad. I went for one or two longer runs (16 miles, 18 miles) and then just ran my normal mileage before the race. I went to bed at a decent hour on Saturday night, and crossed my fingers at the start line. I must admit, I was impressed with the support of Philadelphia. As we ran down Columbus Avenue, and up to Drexel University, the fan support was pretty positive. Lots of people were standing on the sidewalk high-fiving us as we went by, and cheering loudly from their steps. I saw a young woman somewhere in Center City holding a sign that said, “I love your stamina - Call me at 215 - 555 - 5555″ (unfortunately I didn’t write it down guys:) My favorite comment, however, came around mile 8 as we trudged up a hill somewhere in Fairmount Park. A race official, who was standing on the side near one of the mile markers cheering us on, yelled this;
“Smile people. You signed up for this!”
Every single person who was within earshot laughed. It was the comic relief we needed to get up the rest of the hill, and he was right. Thousands of us had signed up to run 26.2 miles and put our bodies through the torture of a run like that. We might as well enjoy it, right?
Around mile 16, I started to question my decision to run the marathon. My legs were numb, I couldn’t feel my feet, and when I went to say thank you to a woman who handed me a cup of water as I jogged by, I realized my face was too numb and I couldn’t even get the words out. What made it worse was the cup was full of ice - the weather was so miserably cold that the water was freezing before they could get it to the runners. The ground near the water stations was a slick sheet of ice from knocked over cups and spilled water. As I trekked through Manayunk (which I must say was the most populated and supportive of all the areas, especially right in front of Kildaires) and back down Kelly Drive, I started to REALLY question why I had done the race. I ran with people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and I was impressed with their stamina and perserverence. I finished the race in pain and not being able to feel any part of my body due to the cold, but I am glad I did it.
The rest of the day I treated myself to lots of pizza, pasta, and ice cream. I think that made the race worth it in itself:) I’m walking around like I’m 4X my age, in lots of pain and everything aches, and I wonder how long this will last. Yet today, I signed up for the Philly Olympic Triathalon next June. What am I thinking?
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