Marathon Man

Well, I did it. I have so many thoughts and feelings about this weekend. Most of what I’m feeling right now is soreness. I mean it! I did not expect to feel THIS sore. All last night I’d say to Carrie, “Man I’m tired. I feel like I just ran a marathon or something.” I’ll probably lose one to three toenails. I have a blister the size of Texas. (I don’t have ANY chafing or sore nipples…thanks Body Glide!) It aches to get up. It aches to get out of the car. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see the upstairs of our house again. I feel like an old man…well, an “older” man. But, more importantly, I’m a marathoner.
Instead of giving you all a play-by-play of my 6 hours on the road (which I’d be willing to do if you asked), here are the top 10 things I learned while running my marathon…
10. The smell at the starting line of the race is a cross between banana, icy-hot, and diarrhea. (No kidding! I think some people “went” before the race started! Gross!)
9. For some reason, the race organizers make the miles between 21 and 26 longer than the other miles. (Can you believe that!? Those jerks!)
8. You should always have your first name on your shirt so you can hear strangers cheer for you. (It was GREAT to hear people say, “Go Bill!” and “You can do it, Bill!)
7. The minute after you cross you say to yourself, “I can do this again!” Then the adrenaline subsides, the pain begins and you say to yourself, “I’ll NEVER do this again!”
6. Having friends and family at the race makes a HUGE difference. (Thanks Curriers and Armstrongs! It was great to have you guys there to support me and to help Carrie. Ooh, and thanks Carrie and boys!)
5. There are a LOT of kids that run marathons! (Every time I saw one, it made me faster because I didn’t want to be beat by a kid!)
4. Running a marathon makes you very, very, very, very hungry! (I haven’t eaten so much in the last three meals than I have in the last 3 weeks!)
3. You become extremely angry when people say, “Almost there!” before mile 25. (I almost clocked a little girl at mile 14. Of course, I was in a neighborhood in LA where there were a ton of cops, so it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.)
2. There are some WEIRD people who run marathons! (I saw a guy who ran backwards the whole time, another guy who was dressed like a medieval knight, and a girl who was painted gold.)
1. Finishing a marathon is one of the GREATEST feelings you can ever get! (Only 1% of the population has finished a marathon. Finishing is an unbelievable feeling. It might even be a better feeling than when the Angels won the World Series…that’s huge!)

Enjoy the pictures! They are me between Mile 18 and 19, the family after the race with my medal, me icing my knee, and my nasty toenail and blister.