Last Sunday I completed my 10th marathon (4th run of Twin Cities). Weather was nearly perfect. A cool 39 at the start and about 55 at the end. At least that was the forecast on race day. I definitely think it felt a tad warmer. Perhaps the absence of clouds and the bright sun made it feel that way. In any case, a good run.
As much as I like running marathons, I've never been crazy about seeing every mile marker. On my training runs, I like to look at my Garmin 405 to find out I have completed another 3 or 4 miles since I last checked. That doesn't happen on a race when every mile is shown with a colorful sign. Still this time, at least for the first 15 miles, I kept being surprised every time I saw another mile. As in... "Another mile already? I just passed the last one!"
Seeing Tim cheering me on at mile 11 was a pleasant and unexpected surprise (that sounds redundant, aren't surprises by definition unexpected?). I nearly missed him in my usual run-looking-at-my-feet mode while listening to my iPod. Fortunately he shouted y name so that made me look up. That made me wonder how many times he might have called my name on earlier miles but I didn't see him... :-)
Miles 15 to 20 were also good and easy, but I definitely was starting to feel exhaustion coming up. I did feel great all the way to mile 20, I just got the feeling at some point that wasn't going to be the feeling for the entire race. At mile 19.5 (Franklin bridge) I got a nice boost from my wife Sharon, my mother Bity and our good friend Patty Mayonnaise. I sort of caught them by surprise as I don't think they were expecting me that soon. By that point, I had averaged 8:54 per mile.
About 3/4 of a mile later I saw Tim again. I think he was alone. Was he there for me? Do I have a fan? Perhaps a stocker? Either way, it helped me keep going a little longer. :-)
Not much later, I took my first walking step of the run. The big long hill before getting to Summit was just a tad much after 21 miles. I might have even walked before mile 21. Can't remember.
This brings me to something I thought while running. Every long distance runner and multi-marathoner has experienced runner's amnesia. This is a well documented and discussed phenomenon by which at the end of the race or shortly after, you forget about the pain and exhaustion you felt while running. You forget you swore this would be the last marathon ever. You forget the pact you made with yourself that if you finish this one, that will be it. You even forget having rationalized the number or marathons run by whatever your age and forget being satisfied with such a significant accomplishment that does not requires repeating any more.
I wonder if those who run a marathon and never repeat the feat do not experience runner's amnesia and that is what keeps them from running another one. Is there a Runner's Amnesia gene they lack?
But that is not what I was thinking. What came to mind was not the documented phenomenon of runner's amnesia, but the far less discussed and pretty instantaneous recovery from the amnesia that takes place around mile 20 of your next run. As in "That's right! I said I was not going to run any more, and this is why!" You remember not only your last miserable run, but every miserable run you've had and think: "How could I have forgotten?" That recovery last a from mile 20 to about mile 25, at which point you feel this is about over and endorphins kick in and the new wave of amnesia starts to slowly settle in your mind like a dense and quickly moving fog.
By the time I hit mile 25, I was tired and knew would not be breaking 4 hours again (not that I had expected it, I was aiming to 4:15 or 4:20 to enjoy the run). I didn't want ti walk any more, so I had an idea. Change the playlist on my iPod to Sharon's running list. I usually don't like it because the list os too short, but she has some kick-ass songs. I immediately started skipping songs to find one that would take me to the end. About the third song in the list did it. Eric Clapton's San Francisco Bay Blues from Unplugged did the trick.
As I calculated, I had about a mile left and the song must be four or five minutes long. If I listen to it twice while running and didn't stop to walk, I'd be at the finish before the second playing ended. That worked beautifully. Not only I run until the end, I was flying. I was singing out loud. I was smiling. I was truly enjoying those last 8 or 8 1/2 minutes were awesome! Here is a picture the organizers took by the Cathedral almost at the end.
You were right. Mile 11 was the first time I saw you, and I did have to yell pretty loud to get your attention. As far as these unfounded stalker allegations are concerned... you'll never be able to prove anything in a court of law.
ReplyDeleteWhy would a stocker tell the truth? Now the suspicion is that you were there on every mile from 1 to 11, but only at 11 decided to call my name to send a chill up my spine... :-)
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