Marathon and Beyond

4:04:41. (Nine minutes faster than last year!)

Don't be afraid to be uncomfortable.

Mariana gave me this piece of advice early on and it's become my mantra. It's the reason why I almost hit my goal of 4:00:00. And, it's the reason I decided to take the chance and go for my goal despite the fact that the majority of my long runs this year were really...bad. There were times this year when I wasn't sure I ever wanted to run again. Ever. But, on November 2nd I looked down 4th Avenue in Brooklyn and decided that I was going to have a great long training run. While a lot of strangers cheered. And occasionally yelled my name.

Some cool stuff that happened:
Amye Lewis found us at mile 5.
I didn't have feeling in my hands until mile 16 (it was cold).
Kirk's brother Scott took 6 seconds of video.
My shirt was a big hit, and I enjoyed the shout outs... until mile 23.
I overcame my fear of pace bracelets.

I should explain my fear of pace bracelets. In the past I did not like them because it meant I'd have to commit to a certain time, and I was afraid to commit to a certain time because if I failed I'd be disappointed. But, this year I got a pace bracelet from Nike, I wore it, and it made the race more competitive, which made it more interesting. Mariana, Amye and I followed the pace per mile for more than half the race, until Mariana pulled ahead and Amye and I slowed down a bit. I have to admit, I really enjoyed the bracelet and I'm going to start wearing them regularly. I typically avoid anything having to do with numbers and calculations (another reason I've feared pace bracelets in the recent past), but now I want one for every race.


Mariana, Amye, Adam, and Keith ran their first marathon. Alison and I ran our third. Barnett, Andy, & Amanda ran their second. Ciara ran her 100th. (Just kidding; I'm not sure how many she's on. It's a lot, though.)

As usual, the energy from the crowd was invigorating, but this year it felt slightly elevated. My theory is since the race was so close to the election people were especially excited. I know I was. And, when Amye commented on how quickly the miles were going by, I was aware that I didn't even feel the first 16 miles I was so high. That all went away by mile 18 when my right knee kept insisting that I stop. But, that running-on-air feeling was great while it lasted. One more reminder of why I run in the first place.