I’ve just come back from my parents’ place. They made it a point to ensure that I was well-fed. It’s a good call, because if I was left to myself I probably would have been content just sleeping from this afternoon right until morning. Anyway, here I am, feeling a little worse for wear. Today’s marathon wasn’t really the marathon I wanted, but it’s the one I got. All things considered, I’m proud to have finished. For someone of my level of fitness, who completes two marathons with only three weeks in between? It’s not exactly widespread, so this is a badge of honour, you know?
The starting line for the race is far from the finish line. In the end, even though I really didn’t want to I ended up driving over. I kind of wanted to just go directly home post-race since I was close to the subway lines, but logistics just didn’t allow it to happen. I went there wearing just my running shirt and shorts. It’s a 15 minute walk from where I parked to the race site. Man, it was nippy this morning. As I strolled along, I pressed my middle finger and thumb together to try to focus. It was my way of trying to maintain some focus and not worry so much about the cold. As I strolled leisurely along, many people with a bit more urgency passed by, wearing jackets and sweat pants. In my mind I just scoffed.
The starting line wasn’t that crowded. The half-marathoners were sent out an hour before us, so the crowd wasn’t as packed. Right from the gun, I felt a little bit off. Unlike the last race my level of preparation for this race was lacking. I wasn’t confident, but I decided early on that no matter what the result I would enjoy the race. Oh, and I did. I mean, the race took me through neighbourhoods that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. For example, what reason would I have to go running through Forest Hill or Rosedale? I saw a sign for a condo stating a price “starting at $900,000.” Like, what the hell? Rosedale valley is certainly a beautiful region to be in.
The race was progressing nicely, but early on I started sensing that I would have issues. Somewhere along the lake shore my left knee started acting weird. It felt like if I just made one wrong move I’d dislocate something. I did my best to keep things going straightforward. By the time 28K rolled around my left ankle was really aching. That was a sign for me that my body still hadn’t recovered properly from the marathon three weeks ago, and that I was trying to do too much too soon. Well, 28K into a race, there’s no choice but to continue onward, right? Getting a DNF wasn’t an option. Mind you, the thought did cross my mind. I told myself though that I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just gave up. In strong terms, I told myself: “Even if I have to crawl, I will cross the finish line.” And that’s how it was.
From the time my ankle started aching, my race sort of fell apart. I honestly just could not hold on to a run for more than a minute. I often ended up slowing back down to a walk. Many people managed to pass me in this period. You’d think that this would be demoralizing, but I stayed positive. I was still happy about running the damn thing. I just knew that it would take longer than expected. A couple of course volunteers made sure to check in on me. They helped to make sure my head was on straight. Despite the positivity, let me tell you, when the final kilometres take so long to pass by, it’s very easy to lose hope.
After a long slog, the 39K mark rolled around. From that point, it’s a long uphill climb to the Ontario legislature. That 3K seemed to drag on forever. I admit to getting a little emotional on that stretch. There are a lot of people along the way: a good mix of spectators and people who’d finished the race. They were all doing their best to encourage me and keep me going. That’s an odd feeling, but it feels so good. No tears were shed, but I was on the verge. I eventually got to Queen’s Park Circle. From that point, all that’s needed is to run around the damn thing. Too bad it’s a large circle. I knew that if there was any time to push, that would be it. There’s no point in holding something back at that point. So, despite the pain and discomfort I just went for it. Having the energy to do so just put a huge smile on my face. I ended up finishing with a time of 5:31:33.1. It’s definitely far from what I wanted to hit, but hell, I still completed, and that’s what’s important. No one can take that away from me.
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