Thank you.
Thank you.
Hi Everyone. Thank you very much for all the wonderful comments. The marathon was awesome with lots of people cheering along the streets as you passed by. At a few locations there were DJ's rocking out. You went through the city, through China town, then out and around the perimeter of Stanley Park, crossed a bridge onto an island, then back across the bridge and into the city of Vancouver for the finish. Every marathon has different qualities, and it is hard to rate one against another. Being an international marathon, you would here people speaking in various languages along the way. Around 17 miles into it, I ran with a lady for while and I told her, "I have to tell someone this." She said, "What's that." ... "Do you know what I just did at mile marker 17. I just completed a goal I set 2 years, 4 months, and 2 days ago; I just ran the distance of the US; 2,372 mile." Then I told her about my heart surgery. She got this great big smile and said, "Thank you. I needed to hear that so bad. I have been feeling sorry for myself because my feet hurt so bad. You just gave me the boost I needed." I told her that's okay, because, "my feet hurt too!"
Three goals were completed, the last being unexpected. One, I completed my virtual run across the US. Two, I completed the marathon with a personal best of 4:29:41. My first was 4:54, and my second was 4:47.
The last and third goal was set at mile marker 19. At this point I realized I had not walked at any point, including water stations. This is the first marathon I ran completely the entire 26.2 miles. Before at around mile marker 18 I would cramp and have such knee pain I would walk say 15 to 20 seconds, and then was good for a mile or two, and then I would have to do it again to keep going. I would normally do that at the water stations. The cramping was terrible and painful this time, but I knew I was having a fairly decent marathon, and when I realized I had gone past 18 miles, I literally grit my teeth and just let determination, guts, (and maybe a little stupidity
) take over. That last 5 miles was killer, but in the end the pain was worth it.
Last night was pretty rough trying sleep. The only thing that does not hurt I think is the hair (what little I have anymore
on my head. One year and one month from now I'll start gearing up for number 4 in WA DC. For now, it is time to recoup and enjoy time with my family. By the way, the map I'll attach below. It looks like it is just going to turn me around and make me run back to San Diego from NYC!
Thanks again everyone. I mean this with all my heart ... this was a victory for all of us. The only thing that can stop us is our minds! "Quitting is not an option ... and never will be." .... Mark
