Marathon'd!

Oww, my most of me!

So, it's over. And, like last time, I'm pretty much thinking that I never want to run another marathon ever again.

...Except that because we went a lot slower (I stayed with Bryant, who was injured and having quite a bit of trouble), I felt a lot better at the finish line. Today I'm a little sore and stiff (26.2 is a lot of miles, no matter how slowly you go), but have had a surprising ability to stay awake (and walk around).

...And except that in the hallway of Chris and April's condo yesterday afternoon, I ran into a friendly man probably in his 70s who said he had finished in 4:16 (14 minutes faster than our Lincoln time), which was about average for him--over TWENTY-EIGHT marathons. That's pretty inspiring.

...And except that this run wasn't as great as it could have been, due to illness (I woke up feeling terrible, with my head entirely clogged) and injury-induced under-training. I feel like I shouldn't go out like that.

...And except that, all things considered, it really was fun. San Diego is a beautiful city. The bands rocked. The costumes (an Aztec warrior, Wonder Woman, an entirely blue man, and Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum all ran, to name just a few) were creative. And the people running, especially the multitudinous ones in TNT purple (I'm an alumna), were definitely inspiring.

Plus, there were several supergood things! My dad ran, and triumphantly finished, his first marathon ever--fabulous! I got to spend the weekend with my family at the seester and brother-in-law's beautiful place, swimming, enjoying the beautiful city, and eating wonderful food.

So, with my knees and hips amazingly feeling fairly normal after this race, I have to admit that I'm actually considering doing another one. Well in the future.