A race report as well as a revelation or reminder!
2008 Boston Marathon
April 21, 2008
Boston, MA
http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/112thMarathon.asp
Well, as the lone member of a group who did not run but was there in Boston (still recovering from an issue with my back), I have to say it was quite an experience! The weather was perfect all weekend as there was no rain at all and temperatures were between 12 and 20 degrees celcius and mostly sunny. Watching the women’s US olympic trials on Sunday, the BIG show on Monday, enjoying the pro-running crowds all weekend; simply AWESOME! Stark contrast for most of us during the rest of the year as we deal with angry motorists who muse in using us a target practice or to hone their skills in the game of “chicken”.
Deena Kastor did not disappoint as she made up a 1:20 deficit on the final lap to win the Sunday trials in 2:29. Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya could soon be called the mayor of Boston with 4 wins and three in a row as he won with a time of 2:07:46 not far off his Boston PB! The women’s race was an exciting finish to see as Dire Tune of Ethiopia won by 2 seconds in a sprint to the finish in a time of 2:25:25 over Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia.
This weekend also taught me a lot about myself and gave some more perspective on my running. It taught me discipline, in many ways. From being disciplined enough to NOT run when it was what I really wanted to do. You know “finish the journey” so to speak. It also taught me to remember why I started this journey in the first place; just over 2 years ago, I was the asthmatic guy, 65 pounds overweight, struggling to finish a 10km run, much less keep up my group of running friends! What it helped me to realize was that it’s more about the journey to the race than the race itself. I witnessed this at the Boston Marathon as I saw so many people finish slower than their pb’s, missing a requalifying time, but still with a bigger smile on their face than when they actual ran their qualifying race.
On my journey to become faster, to find my VO2max, to make a racing team, what I came to realize through this “worst possible timed” injury, was that sometimes you have to stop, look around, and enjoy the scenery on some of the runs. As I ran an easy 3.5km run with my friend Rob in Boston the day before the marathon, to give him some company and help ease his nerves, I actually looked around and, for the first time in over 2 years, just enjoyed the scenery. Maybe it was because it was my first pain-free run in over a month, maybe it was because I was running and joking with a good friend for the first time in a while. Whatever it was, it felt GREAT! I realized that even though I still plan to train hard and run as fast as I can, I also plan to have one day a week where I simply slow down and take it all in.
The dinner after the marathon on Monday was a tough one for me but it taught me to share in the joy of friends instead of feeling sorry for myself (which is what I really wanted to do just after I sat down and saw 5 people at my table with THAT medal around their necks).
You 5 are awesome and I’m proud to call you all my friends!!!!
Run Fast, Run Strong, BUT don’t forget to stop occasionally to smell the daisies.
Happy Trails,
Mike
