Why yes, I did run a marathon today.
I did it in approximately 3:44:47, placing 54th out of 227 people. Which is a bit depressing, because it wasn’t my best time. That is still with the first marathon I ran three years ago. It wasn’t a lot worse, but it was still worse.
But, it is an accomplishment to actually run one of those things.
The weather in Red Deer was very nice. Which made it a bit hot as the day continued. I started out a little too quickly. I blame a friend who said she starts quickly to get out of the crowds of people. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Twelve kilometers in, I felt a blister on the bottom of my right foot.
Fourteen and a half kilometers in my pace band fell off, so I couldn’t keep track if I was still on pace to my goal time of 3:30:00. I tried to keep up with my friend, who had the same goal, but at around the half way mark I started falling more and more behind. By the end she had finished ten minutes before me.
At the seventeenth kilometer a blister appeared on my other foot.
The period from the half way point, which I reached at 1:43:20, until kilometer 35 is mostly a blur. I can barely remember it. It was mostly a slog.
Seven kilometers before the end, my right calf seized up. The muscle suddenly contracted and wouldn’t stop. I walked it off, and then kept running. But it would hit a few times more for the rest of the run. I’d complain more, but those walk breaks were heaven.
It was nice of the organizers to pass out PowerGels to the runners. But I noticed that I got very gassy; All the sugar fermented in my stomach. Bodily noises were made.
After it was over, some friends of mine, and my parents (there to cheer me on) went for a brunch. The place we ended up in was Montana’s. I don’t care for that restaurant much, but the quarter chicken dinner filled a void. Unfortunately, the run had made my stomach bounce so much that it had contracted. I couldn’t finish the meal.
And now I’m hungry again.