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WOOHOO!
A huge congratulations to everyone who ran the marathon last Sunday, especially the first-timers! I was so proud to see so many smiling (or not so smiling... darn blisters!) faces in the finish area. It was awesome to spend the fall training with so many wonderful people, and looking back I had some of my best runs ever last fall as we trecked all over Austin.
I've got to admit that I'm especially proud of my roommate, Leslie, who went from complete non-runner to marathoner in the span of five months. You rock, girl!
A huge thanks to Sumeet, Tim, and Karthik who I saw all along the way - I felt like you were moving along the course faster than I was! (wait a minute... you were! cheaters...)
In keeping with tradition, I'd like to tell everyone a bit about how the marathon went for me. I decided this year to run with a pace group, the 4:00 group led by Eileen. This woman bubbled over with energy, so much so that I felt we should take her to California as the solution of their problems. As we ran along we chatted and cheered, and the entire group had a great time. Unfortunately, around mile 18 I took a potty break and never caught up with the group - an experience that drove home for me the social nature of running, at least for me. Those last miles were pretty tough, as I went along feeling all alone. I tried every trick I could think of to keep myself motivated - I dedicated steps ("the next ten are for my brother... the next ten are for my dog... the next ten..."), I made promises to myself ("run to the next phone poll and then you can walk a bit"), I broke promises to myself ("haha! fooled you! now you have to run to the next poll before I'll let you walk! Haha! fooled you again!")
(yes, people did give me funny looks as I ran by laughing maniacally at myself).
In the end, it was really you who got me to the finish. By the end, all I could think of was how great it would be to sit around munching on bagels with the marathon team. You rock.
So now that you've had a little time to refresh and get reacquainted with walking (ooh, ow...) you can start thinking of your running future. Remember, if you're resting on your laurels you're wearing them on the wrong end!
Yay marathoners!
Geoff Mathews
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