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Well, that makes two...
I didn't feel very good before my second marathon. My knee had been bothering me the whole week, and it ached a little the morning of the race. On top of that, when I got to Gateway Center, Anna and the Russi posse heckled me for wearing the black hooded shirt that supposedly makes me look like a ninja. But I quickly left the heckling and went to join Professor Doug and Jeremy and Luke in the porta-potty line. We stretched and joked and made loud noises, which made me feel better. And when I actually started running, I felt good, and my spirits were high.
Early on, I tried to hang with Doug and Jeremy and Luke, but they went a little faster than I knew I could handle for 26.2, so I stayed back while they sped up. I enjoyed the sunrise for a little while then, and I settled in my groove. I ran into Serge along the way, who had told me just two days before that he wasn't thinking about running the marathon. But there he was - on his way to finishing his first. And his crazy drive to run energized me a little. Then I ran into Ran, who by virtue of his name alone pumped me up a little more.
I made my first bathroom break right about then. I had planned the breaks better this year so that I wouldn't waste so much time waiting in lines. And it worked. I managed to keep roughly an 8:15 pace even after the first stop.
I met a guy along the way who noticed that I passed him going up each hill, and he expressed his good-natured contempt for me each time I did that. He always managed to catch back up on the flat parts, and we took turns passing each other for the next few miles. I had lots of fun doing that, and we managed to work our way down to an 8:09 pace in the process.
And all the time, I felt great. Still, I made my second bathroom break as a preventative measure (Mexican and Thai food... I never learn), and when I got back out, I was back at 8:15 pace. And I maintained that until I reached Pleasant Valley.
By then, I had managed to go further than I had last year without my muscles twitching up. I had stopped at every water stop after mile four to get a cup or two or three of Powerade, and I thought I was in the clear. But I was wrong. The muscle spasms came, and they hit hard. Tom passed me right about then, but not before offering some words of encouragement. And then all of a sudden the 3:40 group came nipping at my heels. I had already given up on 3:35 by then, but I felt determined to stay below 3:40. But despite all my effort and even with all the cups of Powerade, my legs would not cooperate. So I finally let the idea of 3:40 go. The sight of the green 3:40 pace flag slowly disappearing ahead of me bugged me a little for the next few miles. And my legs got worse on top of that.
I skipped the beer stop.
But then I ran into Luke, who was pretty much in the same boat, and we joked about our gimping, and everything was okay and fun again. After a while, Luke looked fresh again, but my gimp was just getting worse. So when we reached the loop around Zilker, I told him to go on and finish strong. About then, I met another gimp, who was wearing a 3:30 pace group tag, and we gimped our way around the loop slowly as the other runners passed us. Dan passed me. A girl I had run the 21 miler with for a little bit passed me. A guy pushing a baby carriage passed me. Elvis passed me. But I gimped on and finally reached the finish. I congratulated my fellow gimp, and he congratulated me. I'd like to see the video of two guys gimping in if anyone has it. Gimp, gimp, gimp.
My finish time was 3:50 or something like that. It wasn't what I had hoped for, and I'm not sure why I didn't do as well this year. Still, I can't be too disappointed. Finishing any marathon is an amazing accomplishment, and I'll treasure the experience all the same.
All the volunteers and the people who just came out to cheer were great. I thank you all. The marathon would not have been such a wonderful experience without you. Tim and Karthik, Sumeet, Amy, Reid, Chris - you all were awesome! Thanks to my family for coming up from Houston to cheer me on at the end.
These past couple of years, people have often asked me why I run. Last year it was to accomplish something special - my first marathon. This year, I hadn't been able to provide much of an answer, because I didn't really know why I was doing it myself. But I think I understand a little better now. The simple answer is that I like running with all of you on the Marathon Team. While running a marathon is something you technically do yourself, it's still great doing it together. The long and fluffy answer is that training for a marathon is the conquering of doubts, the discovery of possibilities, and a celebration of the human body and spirit. It's finding a certain drive and a passion in yourself that you never knew existed. I've enjoyed seeing you all find that passion in yourselves and rediscovering it within myself with each step. And that's why I run.
Congratulations to everyone who finished the marathon this year, especially all you first-timers. I hope to see you at future races.
Happy Running,
Peter Tsan
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