Post-Marathon Wrap

Yeah, that's "wrap" as in, "I am completely wrapped up in bandages and ice." My legs are KILLING me.

Any undertaking as massive as this usually provides some pretty good lessons, and it certainly did for me. Here are a few things I learned:

In an age and world of shrinking distances, it's easy to think that 26.2 miles is not very far. Next chance you get, drive it through town; it took us nearly an hour to drive that far. THEN consider running that distance at one stretch. I have to be honest, it was really just an academic question for me until today.

Nearly the entire last half of the marathon was directed dead into the teeth of a 30-mph headwind. Some gusts could've been higher, as high as 40 mph. This reminded me why I can't stand running for exercise, and why I especially don't like running outside. Now that I don't have to focus on marathon training, I can just do weights and the elliptical. YAY!

The wind was so bad, that I don't remember hitting "The Wall" and certainly not pushing through it, mostly because I spent so much time just pushing through the wind.

Gu (that energy gel they use during big races) taste like crap. I'm not kidding; I took one packet of it and nearly threw up. Who knows...it could've provided the key bit of energy I needed to finish, but I don't know if it's worth it. I took that one packet, and no more.

Finishing a marathon is one of the most exhausting, exhilarating, and emotional things you will ever do. If you have the means, I highly recommend it. I was almost crying at the end...and not from the horrible pain my legs were in. It is an experience not to be missed.

Speaking of pain, I didn't know humankind could feel and sustain activity with this level of pain. The pain in my legs has gone beyond mere physical pain and is approaching the profound philosophical level. Even after 11 14ers, I've never felt pain like this in my body.

But it was worth it.

The pain is worst in my right knee. I mentioned it during the race; well, at mile 9 it started complaining. By mile 11, I was no longer running...at all. In fact, I didn't run again until the last 100 yards or so, and my knee sure let me know how unhappy it was with me for that. I had issues with my knee during the last few 14ers I climbed; maybe it's time to hang it up for good, for this sort of long-distance endurance activity. I'm 35, and I've climbed 11 14ers and run a marathon. That's not too damn bad, if I may say so myself. Perhaps God is letting me know that I should just be happy with that.

As a testament to how much electrolyte I went through today, I came home, had the last pickles in the jar, and drank the pickle juice. No, I'm not kidding.

Anyway, if you didn't get a chance to see all the posts from the race, go back and take a look. I know the last half of the race is missing, but frankly, I was mostly on autopilot, and there was that accursed wind to contend with. There's still some good stuff in there. I wish I had taken a few more pictures of the scenery; Oklahoma City has some real beauty within it. Amazing homes and neighborhoods (I can't deny that I coveted several homes I saw on the route), great activities, shops, and restaurants, beautiful natural scenery...I got to see a little bit of everything, including lots I had never seen before. And I'm from here. Thanks for reading along.