The Witch of Blackberry Bottom

I rarely complete a marathon without encountering some very unusual, inspiring, or just weird people!  One year in Huntsville I came up behind a man with a Bible verse on the back of his shirt - perhaps it was, " I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me," I cannot remember for certain.  What I do remember was that he had only one leg - the other was a prosthetic leg.  So no matter how difficult the miles became that lay ahead, I remembered, "There is a man back there with one leg!"

This year I thought I was dreaming when, at about mile 24, a woman and a little girls (I think from scanning the results later that she was a 14-year-old) passed me.  (Yes, I am frequently passed by 14-year-old girls in races these days!)  The woman was running alongside the girl - was it her daughter, or just a young friend? - with an open book in her hand, reading it aloud to her in a clear voice.  This was an interesting alternative to an i-pod.  "And then Michael said, 'I will build myself a house in the Spring, and I will go to live in it,' . . ." or something like that.  Was this "The Wind in the Willows?"  I summoned up enough strength to catch up and I said, "Excuse me, but that is just amazing!   What are you reading?"

"Oh," she laughed, "It's a great book!  The Witch of Blackberry Bottom." Alas, I could not keep up with this interesting pair.  They were long gone, on their way to Brown's Island (or Blackberry Bottom) and the finish line.

I wonder what book I would have chosen, could I have ordered up a personal reader to pace me for 26.2 miles?  Hamlet is about four hours long, and by the last scene the stage is littered with bodies.

Perhaps that would have been appropriate!

"You that look pale and tremble at this chance,
That are but mutes or audience to this act,
Had I but time--as this fell sergeant, death,
Is strict in his arrest--O, I could tell you-- . . ."

"The rest is silence . . ."

Impossible to Fail

I have to admit that there were times during the marathon when I faltered in my belief that it was impossible to fail.  The hills, which I did not remember being so steep in 2004, took their toll.  And the heat, especially in the last two hours of the marathon, also took their toll, climbing into the 60s.  But the weather was absolutely gorgeous and the crowds were enthusiastic.  I dug deep and discovered - especially in the last two miles - that once again it was possible to cross a distant and difficult finish line, praising God and giving thanks for my health and fitness.

Martha started the Half Marathon injured, and she decided not to push herself beyond what felt comfortable.  And as a result, she ran one of her best times ever - 2:09:15.  That tells us all something about starting too fast!  I did the same thing, starting at 9:30 miles, then 10:00 miles, but toward the end I was logging some 12- and 13-minute miles.  And, for me, the downhill finish was excruciating, shredding what was left of my quads.  My time was 4:52:59, and I was thankful that Martha faithfully waited almost three hours and found me at the finish line because I don't think I could have found her.

We look great here, don't we?  But the observant runner might note that there is only a scant sip or two of water gone from the bottle, and a single nauseating bite taken from the bagel.  It did indeed take some time to recover my appetite, as I made my way back to the hotel and staggered off the elevator, eating one or two pretzels at a time and slowly feeling my body return to normal.  Still, I could not eat anything beyond a few pretzels, when Martha had a wonderful idea!  What was my all-time favorite post-race food?  Vegetable soup, featured each year at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville.  She went downstairs to Trevi's, the Italian restaurant in the lobby of the Omni, and brought me back a bowl of the most delicious minestrone soup I have ever had in my life:

Will this be my last marathon?  We aging marathoners cannot help asking this question in the final miles of a brutal marathon.  The old saying is that you should wait until you forget how painful the last one was before you sign up for another.  And already I am beginning to think, "Hmmm.  What if it had been just a little cooler, and I had been just a little better prepared?"

Folly.  Sheer folly!

Countdown

Friday I ran the final "hard" run for this marathon, the same as I have done for many past marathons:  six miles at my marathon goal pace.  I have adjusted that pace over the years, and this year I expect to run at a 9:15/mile or a 9:30/mile pace; but for training purposes I always try to run just a little fast, so my goal was a 9:00/mile pace.  I ran five miles for an average of exactly that pace, and then a one-mile cool-down.

That is encouraging, but of course the thought occurs to me, "Can I run another twenty miles at that pace?  The answer should be, "Yes, of course you can; you've trained perfectly, and you will be strong and rested at the end of your taper."  Any other answer would be the voice of doubt, which we do not permit to intrude on the mind at this point and certainly at no point during the race!  But the real answer will only come on marathon day itself, which is what makes this foolish adventure worth the many weeks of training.  As the Nike ad poses it:  "Do I have it in me?"  The only way to know is to go to the starting line.

This weekend we visited Katy and David, and they took us to a great little restaurant in Kannapolis called Forty Six.  Named for the number of chromosomes in the human body, it featured many quotations on the walls by Charles Kettering, including this one: 

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” 

And so this will be my mantra as I count down the days to Marathon Day.