"At Marathon arrayed, to the battle shock we ran
And our mettle we displayed, foot to foot, man to man
And our name and fame shall not die.
Aristophanes, "The Acharnians," 425 B. C.
Ah, the marathon.
"How far is that?" asked a non-runner friend.
"26.2 miles is a marathon distance, always." I answered.
"You're doing a marathon? Wow! How long is that?" asked an impressed grandchild.
"We'll see." I answered.
I've been mulling over the results of my last, possibly final, marathon. I ran the Phoenix Marathon on March 2, in Mesa AZ (we could see Phoenix from the starting line) and it was 26.2, that's how far. How long was it? I set a Personal Record, the longest time I have spent on a marathon course. Official time 5:03.
My longest previous marathon was 4:35 and that's when I said I was done with the distance. That marathon in 2006 in Oklahoma City would be the final one. Turns out it wasn't.
What I have been mulling over is was there a lesson to be learned from this time spent on the road? Well, many to be honest.
I learned I might need to train more, no I didn't learn that here, I already knew that.
I learned that all downhill is not necessarily a good thing.
I learned not to be disappointed with my time, but to be satisfied that I finished upright and not in the medical tent.
I learned that there were a lot of people who trained real hard and would have been tickled to have the time I had.
I learned to be a more humble, I am just running a run, not a race.
I learned that "regular" people (non-runners), especially your friends, are impressed that you could keep moving forward for 5 hours. I learned that if you tell them many people were twice as fast, they really aren't impressed. Why? Because they know you and don't know that person who won. I have great friends in Brian and Sue.
I learned that running is part of who I am, no matter how I measure up to other runners.
I learned that I like Arizona.
I learned that there is an all uphill marathon in Tuscon.
I learned that I should never say never again.
I learned that maybe I'll never learn.
Peace my friends.
