The good news: I ran one of the fastest half marathons of my life. The bad news: I signed up for the full marathon. Everyone said to make sure you don't push it too hard down the hill on the first half, but I went out and did it anyway. By the time I hit the 20 mile mark I was completely spent. So I slogged along watching my pre-race goals wither away. Then I watched my mid-race goals wither away. Finally I was down to just one goal: to finish the race without puking, or dying, or worse (it could be argued that there aren't many things worse than puking and dying, but I was seeing visions of all kinds of things those last few miles). When I finally did finish, I felt like a complete failure and was pretty pissed off. Now, as I look back there are some positives I can take away. - It actually was my second best marathon (out of four). I just had higher hopes for myself this time. - I learned a lesson about managing myself in a long race that I can use in the future.
- I'll be able to use this race as motivation. While I had some serious thoughts about finding a new hobby (Video gaming was sounding like a really good idea around mile 23), I can't let this be my last marathon. I know I can do better than this. So there it is. My feet, legs, hips and butt are still sore today, but give me a few days to rest up and I'll be back on this horse.
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