Well, I was tired. I think I had enough adrenaline immediately after the race to do a cool-down and walk around in the sun, but that hurt me for sure afterwards.

For a brief moment while sitting in the stands waiting for our other runners to arrive, I stood up suddenly and felt very lightheaded, slowly collapsing to the ground. I ended up recovering and hanging out in the entertainment tent, but was still taking things slowly. Later that night, while waiting for our late dinner to arrive, I ended up feeling very faint again and just went straight to bed, where I stayed until morning.

The next 2 days I was quite sore, and going down stairs was not the fastest nor most enjoyable experience. But it was still better than my first half marathon, I'm sure it was a combination of the distance, the pavement, the uphill/downhill, and the fact that I was altering my normal running stride from my calf cramps. *But* I was at least functional and able to get around, which wasn't too bad; I was however, faring worse than anyone else in the group, who all seemed to recover quite fully and extremely quickly.

Now that some time has past, I've had time to reflect on the marathon and the overall experience. I do really wish I hadn't cramped up and had finished sub 4:00, since that would have been a great accomplishment for me. Despite what everyone says about the respectable time for this marathon (especially it being my first), and how great a story it is to have completed after such severe cramps, the ego in me still wishes for that better time.

But once I put that aside, I think of the views of the mountain while running, the friendly and encouraging spectators, the raw talent and speed of the lead pack, the kids in flip-flops pulling me up the hill, the satisfaction when crossing the finish line and the look of thanks when I gave Colman and Cornell my gear.

It was all worth it.

03/15/07 by bryan
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