Thoughts on the Run

04:59:31 – 26.2 miles

I know that this race has a bad taste in some people’s mouth due to a few years ago an extra .5 mile being added to the course, but they’ve turned it around. The course is certified about every quarter mile it appears and there are plenty of aid stations.

By no means is this a simple course to run. There are hills, but there are also downhills to compliments. Granted, the slow incline up 17th St at mile 19 with a steep hill at 21 was not happiness, but it all balanced out.

Yes, I broke the cardinal sin of marathon running: I did something new on race day.

One hour before the race I popped 2 Tylenol. Dangerous to say the least, but I figured if I drank enough water then I should be fine. There was a half hour when my stomach was going to explode and I assume te Tylenol had something to do with it. I knew it would pass and drank plenty of water.

At mile 10 I started chatting with a couple guys who are running the Leadvile 100 Trail Race. Is it a sign that I ran into them???

Mile 22 I encountered a young lady who was struggling. It was her first marathon and I vividly remember that feeling of being so close and not knowig if the body would hold up. I struck up a conversation, provided some quotes, but most importantly distracted her. 2 miles went by quickly and we entered the park for final lap.

End of race … BBQ and beer! It never tasted so good! The medal this year was pretty snazzy. I will be running this again next year.

Oh yeah … yes you can run 2 marathons in one week.