*Teensy pet peeve: I shelled out $85 for all of my downloadable photos from MarathonFoto and apparently you do not get them right away — or even within days. I intended for this post to showcase the best ones but I guess that will have to wait for whenever MarathonFoto decides to send me a LINK!
Here we are 4 days post-marathon and I’m still on a high.
Two years ago, I said I would cry if I crossed the finish line in under 4 hours. It seemed like a dream come true.
Well, I didn’t cry. But, now I know what real hard work can do. I also know something else…I can run a faster marathon.
I know that’s not what I should focus on right away. And believe me, I’m perfectly happy basking in my PR for awhile.
However…I was holding back. Did you hear? Holding back!!! I believe that if I had increased my speed slightly (could have) through the first half, I actually could have come in at 3:55 or below.
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| That’s us in the middle — light blue and bright orange shirts together — rolling through Georgetown. |
But, running with Theodora was the right move for me. One, it seriously made things fly by. Two, I was being smart with the pacing. I’d rather finish feeling glorious like I did than half dead.
Oh and here’s the starting line. I was sitting here watching this with a silly grin on my face (can FEEL the atmosphere?!)
The thought of an entirely new training season is daunting — which is why I always immediately want to sign up for a spring marathon, so I can reach my next goal quickly. But…that never works out.
Winter does mean things to my body. It makes me ache and hurt and yeah, I get a teeeensy bit burnt out of the training cycle.
Still, my head is racing with marathon love right now. I could read other people’s recaps for hours, going mile by mile with them as they chug through it.
Sunday was truly it — the reason I run marathons. The guts, the glory, the pain, the joy, the spectators, the weather, the accomplishment.
Another one I stole from Theodora:
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| I’m pretty sure I was saying, “Those must be your parents, right?” Great shot of her, not so much of me, ha! |
Such a perfect day.
Know what was kind of exciting? Seeing that Marine Corps Marathon actually has video of every single person finishing! How cool! I immediately found myself crossing the finishing like at 3:59:55 (though my chip time was a minute faster)
And then…I stalked my friends crossing the finish line. Yes, I know all of your times, I obviously stalked everyone on the results website on Sunday 🙂
Did you know that Marine Corps Marathon sold out in a record 2 hours and 41 minutes this year? Insane! Of course I got in late and raised money for Back on My Feet. But, still, this marathon is HOT — and the amazing course through America’s awesome capitol and the best spectators in the world make it that way!
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| Happily done asking strangers to take my photo and then waiting an hour (standing!) to board the metro. |
Next Steps
I DO have something coming right around the way….Philadelphia Marathon! I’ve now run MCM four times so I’m very used to the course. I’ve also run Chicago and Baltimore so it is about time I add another city to the list. Aside from Baltimore, Philly is the easiest place to go. I mean I would hit up NYC in a hot second but that’s not up to me unfortunately (dang the lottery!)
I am not sure how I feel about Philly yet. My legs could be fine – or not. This will be my third year in a row doing two marathons within a span of weeks. Last year it went pretty horribly but there were only 13 days in between. The year before, the second marathon was awesome, spaced 21 days.
I think I’ll do okay. If I feel good on race day, I’m gonna go for it. I should probably just take it easy but..going with the flow is my MO.
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| I’m Coming For You PHILLY! (*please don’t be toooo cold!) |
ALSO: I just signed up for the DC Rock n’ Roll Marathon in March. Last year I signed up for the full and just ran the half. I see that happening again but wanted to have the option. The price difference was only $15 so I figured why not?