Afterthoughts
Back in Philly today, had some thoughts on the ride home.
I checked the results of the half marathon. John and I didn't get our names in it. So you'll have to take our word that we double dipped yesterday... crossing the finish and getting times for both the half-marathon and the full marathon. We went out last night - me, John, Ian and Steve K. (who was in DC over the weekend), Reba, Heather, Nora and Allison - and the first pitcher hadn't even been drained before it became the defining story of the race. To paraphrase John, without that little blunder it would have been just another so-so marathon. Now it'll be one we always remember.
The other thing that has stuck in my mind a bit, which I think I mentioned in yesterday's post, was the little episode I witnessed at about mile 24 where a cop along the course was pushing and shoving a spectator/passerby for no apparent reason. No-one around the two, the guy was not resisting, and the cop was just in his face, pushing and shoving the guy backwards as he was shouting something. While I wouldn't call it brutality I can't imagine how, in any context, that could have been considered appropriate police procedure. I think if anything would have been gained by asking the cop if he realized he was looking like a brutish idiot to the runners streaming by. And I think if anything was lost as instead I ran by, fully into my second wind and intent on moving up a few notches in the finishing order.
I also think of Michael Wardian, who is somewhat of a DC running celebrity/oddity and past three-time winner of the National Marathon. He finished second yesterday, running a 2:22. He then turned around and went down to Virginia Beach, where he ran a 2:35 today in the Shamrock Marathon. He runs some vast number of fast marathons, ultras and the like, holds the record for the fastest baby-jogger marathon time and had the fastest marathon time on the treadmill, and the like. All that with a job and two small children.
I guess I take comfort in how that running from one race to another repels me. Then I think how, after taking tomorrow off, I'll start up again with a few miles on Tuesday and start planning out a strategy for getting some faster times again. Jai-ho!
I checked the results of the half marathon. John and I didn't get our names in it. So you'll have to take our word that we double dipped yesterday... crossing the finish and getting times for both the half-marathon and the full marathon. We went out last night - me, John, Ian and Steve K. (who was in DC over the weekend), Reba, Heather, Nora and Allison - and the first pitcher hadn't even been drained before it became the defining story of the race. To paraphrase John, without that little blunder it would have been just another so-so marathon. Now it'll be one we always remember.
The other thing that has stuck in my mind a bit, which I think I mentioned in yesterday's post, was the little episode I witnessed at about mile 24 where a cop along the course was pushing and shoving a spectator/passerby for no apparent reason. No-one around the two, the guy was not resisting, and the cop was just in his face, pushing and shoving the guy backwards as he was shouting something. While I wouldn't call it brutality I can't imagine how, in any context, that could have been considered appropriate police procedure. I think if anything would have been gained by asking the cop if he realized he was looking like a brutish idiot to the runners streaming by. And I think if anything was lost as instead I ran by, fully into my second wind and intent on moving up a few notches in the finishing order.
I also think of Michael Wardian, who is somewhat of a DC running celebrity/oddity and past three-time winner of the National Marathon. He finished second yesterday, running a 2:22. He then turned around and went down to Virginia Beach, where he ran a 2:35 today in the Shamrock Marathon. He runs some vast number of fast marathons, ultras and the like, holds the record for the fastest baby-jogger marathon time and had the fastest marathon time on the treadmill, and the like. All that with a job and two small children.
I guess I take comfort in how that running from one race to another repels me. Then I think how, after taking tomorrow off, I'll start up again with a few miles on Tuesday and start planning out a strategy for getting some faster times again. Jai-ho!
posted by seebo | 10:11 PM
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