Sunday Funday

Two weeks ago I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. The weather was in the low fifties, overcast, not really windy and just a little drizzly. Almost humid. It was a really fun race; not a course I'd call FAST, as I found it to be pretty hilly in the second half. But very well spectated and stocked, lots of porta-potties (ahem, thank GOD for that one between miles 16 and 17), plenty of water and music and gorgeous views of the cities and its neighborhoods.

I'm just now accepting my finishing time, as it was about 10 minutes off my top-tier goal. I used the Hanson's Marathon Method and my splits were relatively even throughout the race. I never felt like the distance was insurmountable, and I truly enjoyed both the training and the race. Throughout the eighteen weeks my training led me to believe I'd run in the neighborhood of three hours and twenty minutes, and I ended up finishing at 3:28 and change.

Yes, it's my PR; yes, I qualified for Boston. But there's still that little nagging feeling that I didn't do my best. I mean, I DID have to stop to, um, relieve myself, and I fought mightily with that fresh, not-started roll of toilet paper. And I DID choose to enjoy the water stop at mile 24, walking through it and drinking the entire cup of water instead of splashing myself in the face. And then I walked just the tiniest bit farther than the stop.

So there's a few minutes. But I knew at the half 3:20 was not happening for me that day. Maybe I psyched myself out, having that number in my head for the past few months. I was a nervous wreck before the race--I was practically in tears waiting in the corral. From the very beginning I kept reining myself in, trying to keep the bulk of the race effortless--and it largely was.

Who can say? It just didn't happen that day. And what I DID accomplish makes me proud, still. I met most of the goals on my multi-tiered list. I still love running; in fact, I think I love it even more. The training was pretty grueling, especially throughout this beast of a winter. But I loved those longer, mid-week runs and the hard work every day, running six days in a row each week. The training this time around changed me.

One my favorite parts of the training was getting not one but TWO longer weekend runs, back to back. Saturday I'd run the longer of the two, the *real* long run. But then on Sunday, I'd do it again, sometimes the same distance (10), sometimes a bit shorter (8).

I had a nice 6 miler this morning, and it feels good to get back into the routine. Just because it didn't happen two weeks ago doesn't mean it never will. I'm coming for you, 3:20.

Run happy.