Or should I say, "survival!" I completed the marathon in 4 hours and 10 minutes. It was a very pleasant day, starting off in the mid 50 and ending up in the low 70s by 11 AM when I was approaching the finish line. It was a little overcast so no direct sun. It was a very nice route for the most part: flat with just a few low hills. There were lots of spectators which is always motivating. I enjoyed myself for the first 30km of the race-- it was 42K in total. The half marathon was a breeze. I felt like I was still going strong . After 30 km though, we went through a park which had no shade. Emerging from the park, I was completely drained. I got to 37 km and my legs stopped. My calves were aching. I walked for about 5 minutes and then forced myself to start again. It was sheer willpower at the end. The crowd was amazingly supportive. They'd see a name on the race bib and yell out encouragement to the runner. My son ran with me so someone saw our names and yelled out "Go James Brothers." When I was done, I was feeling very faint. Everything in my field of vision looked white for the next 30 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment