Respecting the distance

I don't often talk about truly stupid things that I do. But this stupid thing could have had long lasting consequences.

For my 47th birthday, I ran a marathon in my hometown. This was my second marathon and somewhat of an anomoly because I avoid my hometown like the plaque and because the thought of a 26.2 mile run in the hottest month of summer has never been appealing to me.

I was not ready for this marathon. I had a stomache virus the week before and never really regained my strength. And I was make a 16 hour drive the day after. But I thought that I could muscle through the 26.2 miles.

Iwas doing well for the first 9 miles. The first 4 were uphill and were the section of our track runs when I was in high school. But I hit mile 10 and it was apparent that my body wasn't happy with me.

Oh, I finished it. I walked quite abit. My parents, kids, and brothers were waiting for me at the end and my kids actually ran the last quarter mile around the school track. It was wonderful and I will run it next year. And I'll be prepared because I don't think I could fake a marathon without injury again.

Oh, and I came in first in my age group.

Because there were only two of us.