OK, here goes. I finished my 12th marathon today. There is good news and bad news. As most of you know, I was terribly anxious about getting to the 14th St. Bridge by 1:15 p.m. (race started at 7:55 a.m.) because I have slowed dramatically in recent years, but I had no idea how much. (I built my long training runs to 5 hours, but had no idea how much distance I covered.) So heres the good news: I ran virtually all the first 20 miles (I took a couple of very brief walking breaks between 16-19) and my pace for most of the way was a near-perfect 13 minutes/mile. I did slow as I got closer to 20, but I got to the bridge in 4:35 - with 40 minutes to spare!!! By then however, (and this is the bad news, I guess), the balls of my feet were screaming with pain (I still have a few neuromas in there, and less fat padding (a result of my advancing age) to cushion them. Also, it was beastly hot, and this course has little shade. So I did walk/jog the last 10 k since I knew I would finish and not get taken off the course and forced to ride the straggler bus....I think if my feet hadnt hurt so badly, I probably wouldve been able to finish is less than 6 hours, but I just couldnt help doing a lot of walking - I thought walking also would minimize the damage aftermath as well. (although I had a real problem getting OUT of the tub just now!). Anyway, I crossed the finish line in 6:21, a very slow time by any measure, (14 years ago I broke 5 hours and earlier - well, never mind, those days are gone), but Im happy nevertheless. I raised more than $3,000 for the Humane Society of the United States and $1,500 for Lab Rescue of the LRCP, the source of my beautiful Watson - and that was what it was all about for me. And I honored the memory of the worlds most wonderful chocolate lab, Hershey, whom I miss every single day. Oh, and did I say that I will celebrate my 70th birthday in March, and will be writing a first person essay for the Washington Post special health section in December on aging well? I am going to play with the theme of the ancient marathoner and the stages of grief (grieving for my younger selfs athletic performances) - but these stages are somewhat different: challenge, nostalgia, disappointment, acceptance - and, ultimately, exhilaration. After all, I did finish - and at my age, every mile is a gift. Im thrilled that I was able to finish, and Im OK with my time. This will be my last marathon; today, I am officially retiring from marathon running - and Im OK with that too.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:48:28 +0000
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