Duck Feet

I took the coward's way out of the Barefoot Running Festival 5K by taping up my long sox with duct tape. It gave that minimalist feel without the gravel-induced, skin-tearing damage that Boston paths, roads, and sidewalks invariably cause.

To toughen up my feet for this 5K, I dried them out by walking around barefoot. I cracked my feet on a redundantly long walk which caused open wounds. I didn't want goose poop to infect the cracks and inhibit performance at the Tarheel 10 Miler next week so I went with this skin-protecting, minimalist solution.

Here are some photos for your eye-buds:

Duck Feet

Starting line photo op. The epicenter of the barefoot movement.

Duck feet, duck lips. OR Too sexy for my shoes. You pick.

It really happened. Groovy crowd.

It was this dude's first time ever running barefoot. He paid for it but kudos for sucking it up.

The staff was ready for him.

And my damage. None on the left foot though. Not a terrible wrapping job for a rookie.

Keep running,
LSF

PS: I highly recommend attending one of the New England Barefoot Running Meetups if you're in the area and want to get a free lesson on how to run barefoot. World-class instruction from some of the pioneers in the movement. Sundays at 1PM by the Hatch Shell. Chill, nice, welcoming folks.

Cardio Lifting Circuits

I'm supplementing jiu jitsu and running with cardio lifting to increase cardiovascular endurance, increase total body strength, and max out on calorie burn.

What do I mean by cardio lifting? I'm not talking about that class gyms offer, aka Body Pump (which is not bad). But I AM talking about maintaining an elevated heart rate for an extended period of time while conducting full body lifts and cardio circuits.

Advantages:

Burn 1000+ calories in just 14 hours. Source.

+Enormous caloric burn: 1000+ calories over 70min, similar to the burn you get when running, doing jiu jitsu, swimming, or roughly 14 hours of what's going on in this picture.

+Muscle definition: You won't get super muscly with this but you'll get a more shredded, sinewy, fighter type look. Lean and mean.

+Endurance: pushing for 70-90 minutes with a high heart rate translated into success during a 90 minute half marathon despite lack of training by running. My cardio endurance over 90 minutes is as high as it's ever been.

Disadvantages:

-No major increase in muscle mass: If you want muscle mass, high weight low reps is the way to go, that takes patience and focused effort on individual muscle groups.

-Jack of all trades, master of none: Full body exercises prevent focus on any one muscle group.

-Time: 70-90 minutes. You've got a life to live, I get it.

-High Effort: You have to constantly push, if you have juice left at the end of a set, give it another rep. You'll get sweatier than the people around you as you transform into a superior athlete.

-Gear: You need a heart rate monitor (HRM) because you won't have time to manually check your pulse.

Here's the basic pattern I follow:

• Stretch/Foam Roller
• Warm up cardio
• Full body lift
• Cardio, 75-80%
• Weights A and B alternating
• Cardio, 85-95%
• Weights C and D alternating
• Cardio, 70-85% Cool Down

Here's one I've done.

Example:
-Stretch/Foam Roller
-1 Mile Rowing Machine Warmup: 60-70% HR
-Olympic Lift Medley: recover back to 60% HR before beginning the next set.
*Continue this 60% trigger with all other lifts. Once your HR returns down to 60%, start the next set.

-1.5 Mile Run: 70-85%
-Superset dumbell chest press: x12, 8, 6, increase weight each time. Do this on a bench then immediately on a stability ball, so 6 sets altogether.
-Jumping Pull Up: 3 sets x20, I do it on a bar that's about 6-12" above my hands extended vertically. The lower the bar, the easier it is. Get a platform if you're still developing those mad ups.
*Alternate between the chest presses and pull ups to give the muscle groups some time to recover without lowering your heart rate.

If you want to reduce muscle reaction time you
have to Mufasa during your lifts. Pun.

-1.5 Mile Run: 85-95% for advanced athletes, 70-85% for moderate athletes
-Rafikis: sit up on a decline bench with some form of weight in your hands. I use medicine balls or plates and feel like Rafiki from the Lion King.
-Back Extension/Oblique Side Bend: 3 sets, unweighted, 10lbs, 25lbs, decrease reps with more weight

-1 Mile Run: 70-85% Cooldown

Nice work. Grab some water. If you want to make up your own or want me to make one up for you, just send in your goals and I'll be glad to help you out.

Keep lifting,
LSF

PS: I couldn't even begin to think of a good enough caption for the treadmill picture up there.
-This is how you win at treadmill.
-She's not fat, she's efficient.
-"I don't see why people complain, running is just as easy as driving."
-Once you've mastered the Treadmill Sit, try modifying it so you're resting your arm on the backrest. This will better engage your core and condition you for more complex seats like sitting on stools.

Hyannis Half Marathon, Why Not?

A friend of a friend could not make it to the Hyannis Half Marathon. I briefly considered the pros and cons and scooped up the bib number for the 13.1 mile race on Cape Cod.

Things have changed since marathon training inNovember, there are a few factors that are going to make this tougher than itshould be-

-Lack of training:  Ihaven’t run 13 miles since the Athens Classic Marathon in mid-November and I’vebeen changing my running style to a forefoot strike but can only maintain thatfor about 5 miles before my calves are smoked. I can regress to a mid-footstrike mid-race.

-Pain: I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and my knee was painin' the nextday despite the ridiculous ice bath (3 trips to my hotel ice machine and luke-cold water from the faucet) I tookimmediately afterwards. I also pulled a muscle in my back around my kidneywhile jitsing about a week ago. Not sure if it’s a pulled muscle but that’swhat it feels like. Stretching or foam rolling should mitigate pain and preventfurther injury.

-Shoes: I wouldn’t be able to maintain 13 miles on my BrooksPureConnects which force runners to strike with the forefoot. I’ve got to stickwith the well cushioned Reebok Zigs to get through this. Hopefully mentalfortitude, superior genetic ability in the form of athletic prowess, close-knitconversations with God, and luck will get me through this. 

-The Elements: It’s been said that there is no such thing asbad weather, only weak people. However, you’re not going to run yourbest time with a 60mph headwind, that’s a fact. I’ll do what I can to deal withthe wind and dress appropriately. It's a looped course so my fingers are crossed that the wind direction is at least half agreeable. 

-Strength/Cardio: CrossFit-like circuit training and Jiu Jitsu over the past two months made me a better all-around athlete for short bursts in terms of strength and cardio. Hopefully my legs' endurance can keep up with my cardio endurance. I'll be doing a lot of 3-4 minute high speed intervals to exploit this strength and allow for mid-race recovery.

My personal record for 13.1 miles is 1:38 which I ran alongthe Boston Marathon course back in October. Given the 5 factors above, a 1:50:00 just over a 8:00 min pace is reasonable and 1:44:48 is ambitious.

Keep running,

LSF

The Hyannis Half Marathon Went Okay I Guess

I ran a 1:32:43 after hoping for a time between 1:44:48 and 1:50:00. That's a 7:05 pace which, to be honest with you, I'm surprised. What could have caused this?

+Cardio lifting: Cardio lifting seems to be pretty effective for maintaining an elevated heart rate for an extended time. My HR monitor read between 85% and 93% for most of the run.

+Form: I bent my knees and took short steps to decrease reliance on muscle and put the pressure on cardio. Think of bench-pressing 1000 lbs. You can lift 200 lbs 5 times or 50 lbs 20 times. In a half marathon, you already know you're going high reps so go low weight.

This also helped reduce the likelihood of any musculoskeletal injuries. My left hip, right knee, and lower back are a little sore today, but nothing worse than during the long runs in marathon training.

My calves' ability to run the way I wanted them to faded around mile 7 and I reverted to my old form but maintained a good pace. More muscle means more juice.

+The Elements: Reduce the wind by 20mph and it was perfect out there. A little headwind gets the mind back into the game.

+Pace Booty*: The competition of the fairer gender was stunning. Not to sound like a perv, but deep down you ladies know you're just trying to give us something nice to look at. How else do you explain running tights and yoga pants? So you just run til you catch the next awesome butt and trail behind it, then the next one, and so forth. It's a great technique, just watch out for dudes wearing running tights.

+Mid Run Fuel: I noshed some Trolli Brite Crawlers around mile 10. Energy boost baby. I also stopped at every water station along the way (tip a la Matt Cormier, @mcorms). I nearly ran into people 4 or 5 times, but I drank when I could to prevent cramps.

+Huge Heart: I'm pretty awesome at leaving it all out there. I know myself and my body well and it didn't give out until 12.5 miles in. From then on it was just pain and the clock that kept me going.

Keep running,
LSF

PS: I was going to link Girls in Yoga Pants in the pace booty section but it is dirrrrrtaaayyyyyy and Momma Longsox is a regular here so you'll have to Google it yourself.

(Un)Surprising Finish at the Super Sunday Cambridge 5K

I went with the usual strategy yesterday during the Super Sunday Cambridge 5K. I took it easy to begin with and slowly accelerated. I started by passing people that were just having a good time, nudging up to the people that were new runners, slowly moved pass experienced women and older men. Once I hit my own demographic, I would sprint from person to person, taking rests by keeping stride with the last person I caught. I finally got to the 3 mile marker and zoomed past the 5K finish point and yelled, "Time?" to the guy monitoring the 5K finish line.

"Sorry man, I'm not keeping it." Neither was I, oh well, it would be online. "Grab a PowerAde and get on the bus to go back to the starting point," he told me when a lady on the sidewalk chirped, "It's 5 til 11!" Thank you ma'am. Just the absolute typical person from Cambridge, friendly and outgoing but oblivious.

I got on the bus to see that nobody else was on it. Was I the first one to finish? Did others finish the course and run back to the starting point? Idunno, but that's what I did, just ran back. I checked the website for results all afternoon and they hadn't been posted til much later that night.

The next morning I woke up to a text from a friend that read: "19:57.6. First"

Holy moly! Number 1! First Place! Gold Medal! Official Champion of the Super Sunday Cambridge 5K. Crossing "Win a road race" off the bucket list. I am truly an incredible athlete...

Exceeeeept it was a 5 mile race. If you're looking to "win a road race" I highly recommend you register for the 5K at a 5 mile event. Chances are that the people running the 5K are people that may not be able to comfortably finish the 5 miles. My time was 19:57, the guy behind me was 22:22. Not exactly a photo finish.

So that's a 6:26 pace and I met the goal of running it in under 20 min. I've still got to take off 57 seconds to meet the 2012 goal.

It was hosted by RaceMenu which did a great job. They held a party after the race that I didn't stick around for, it looked like folks were having a good time despite the cold. They called out everyone's name as they crossed the finish line of the 5 miler, a nice touch. I'm pretty sure they took at least one picture of every single runner and posted them on Facebook. Another great feature of RaceMenu. It was a decent course, somewhat similar to the Yulefest route. I will be using their website to find future races in the area. You guys keep up the good work!

Finally, your moment of zen:

Breaking the sound barrier.

Keep training,

LSF

Barefoot Running Baby Steps

Okay okay okay okay. This is the very last time I'll use the term "Techsnique". You win society, I'll conform. From now on, I'll call it forefoot striking, minimalist running, or barefoot running. I'm using all three as I take baby steps towards comfortable barefoot running. Here are the definitions of each type of running and the progress I'm making to build up for a respectably paced barefoot jog:.

-Forefoot Striking: What is this? Landing on the balls of the feet and bringing the entire foot down to meet the ground as weight increases on the foot and stride progresses. Similar to this pattern:

Forefoot striking: red first, yellow second, green final or not at all. (C) Pablo Picasso 2012

Personal Progress: I can run a medium pace (8min/mi) for 5 miles with a forefoot strike after 1 month of training. My calves are getting stronger and my overall 5 miler is faster than it's been in a long time. It could be cardiovascular related or muscular, not sure. I DO know that the increase in calf strength adds to the overall power. I wear Reebok ZigDynamics for this.

-Minimalist Running: Same form, different shoes, no arch support, extremely lightweight. I purchased some Brooks Pure Connects (neon green baby) to dive into this. These were made for forefoot striking. Where most running shoes have a  thicker sole at the heel, these are thicker at the forefoot, forcing you to stay forward on your foot. Walking in them feels awkward. Bonus feature: cleft toes. There is a minor notch between the big toe and uhhh, whatever you call the one next to it.

Personal Progress: I ran 4 miles in these ranging from 6-9 mph (10:00~6:20 min/mi) on a treadmill with a minute break between each to recharge my calves. It felt great. I was smoked. No injuries. Form was good and remained consistent. I'm also pretty sure I saw a calf vein. First ever. 

-Barefoot Running: This means actually taking your shoes off and hitting the road which is preferred over trails or beaches. If you're going to do this, make sure to build up everything first: sole skin, mental toughness, stronger foot muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments. And keep your shoes and socks in your hands for gosh-sakes. Ain't no shame in bailing early on.

Personal Progress: I showed up for the New England Barefoot Runners Meetup a couple of weekends ago to meet some of the nicest people in New England. They meet weekly on Sundays on the Esplanade and have a great time running together like cavemen. Although I've missed the past two weeks I'm eager to attend again when I'm over the cold I'm dealing with.

I ran a barefoot mile with the group 2 weeks ago with no skeletal/muscular problems except some hot-spots on my feet. I need to work on how I land... too much toe curling. I ran half a mile on a run on my own in sub-freezing weather. My feet went slightly numb but the ground felt great as long as I kept moving. The feel of the ground on your bare feet is definitely one of the appeals of the technique. I stayed on main roads with good sidewalks and only had issues crossing streets where I had to focus on the ground instead of traffic. My third and most recent was on the back roads of my neighborhood which has not-so-great sidewalks. I spent a lot of time digging pebbles out of my feet. Yes, it hurt.

The most discouraging factor was pace. Even with an open path, I was only going at a 12 min pace. I takes patience and time. Since I'm focusing on 5ks, I'm wondering if this practice isn't more for people putting in serious mileage.

So the journey continues to improve form to prevent injury and improve pace. I'll keep you posted. It's time to start looking for upcoming 5ks. Any suggestions?

Keep training,
LSF

The Techsnique, Week 1

So I reached a new level of calf pain last week as I amped up the Techsnique of silent running in preparation for barefoot running. Here are the initial effects:

Slower pace: The Techsnique is initially slower. I'm still building muscle, tendons, ligaments and bone. I'm not about to push this faster than it needs to go but I'm going to step outside of my comfort zone on every run to ensure I get that body "shock" without destroying something.

For Bearfoot runners. Buying theeeem.

Faster regular pace: When I switched back to my regular gait for the Cambridge 5k, I was going a lot faster than I estimated and had mad calf STREMPF in the reserve tanks at the finish line.

Stronger legs: No hint of muscle fatigue last night on a 3.5 miler with agility drills incorporated. Try some ladders/agility drills and see how your foot hits the ground. That should be YOUR Techsnique.

Concentrate: Buddy runs are a no-go when changing your gait. Focus on the noise of your feet, how you're stepping, an upright, posture, bent knees, etc.

I did the last quarter mile of last night's 3.5 miler sans shoes. I made it about 100m before I had to walk. Totally forgot to build up thicker sole skin. If you try it, your feet will quickly remind you that you're not ready.

And that ends this year's edition of Long Sox Fitness. I'm headed home for Christmas to see family and friends and get fat drinking eggnog and eating cookies. There won't be much time for blogging in the next couple of weeks due to the aggressive schedule. Don't let your training get in the way of life.

What you can look forward to in the first few days of 2012:
-Setting goals/New Year's Resolutions, I'll be figuring mine out until then
-Personal Trainer Certification, the exam is coming up. Time to cram.

Happy Holidays,
LSF

My New Running Techsnique

So I've been listening to "Born to Run" on audiobook for the past couple of weeks because reading anything longer than a blog post is, frankly, for nerds. I'd wager almost all distance runners are familiar with this book because it made barefoot running more mainstream in 2009. Those Vibram Five Finger shoes couldn't stay on racks in the summer of '09 and they still seem to be in most gyms. Whether you've seen them or not, they gained a ton of popularity because of B2R. While it was fun to point and laugh at the fitness junkies wearing them, I've finally hit the breaking point. I have to get on the bandwagon. B2R had everything to do with this.

Book Summary: The 6'3" author (Christopher MacDougall) sucks at running but loves it. He's slow and gets all kinds of injured regardless of how he changes his gear and form. He sees some Native Mexicans (Tarahumara tribe) who are awesome runners and run in nothing but skirts and sandals and sometimes floofy shirts. The key? Barefoot running their entire lives. The logic? The foot, leg, and entire body evolved without shoes. Just run like a caveman and your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones will adapt to the stresses you put on them by forcing you to step carefully and quietly. He argues that the more cushioned the shoe, the worse it is for your body. Check out the feet on the picture above. Shoes/orange shirt is going heel first (but is one of the greatest ultramarathoners of all time), sandals/floofy shirt (Tarahumara) is stepping toes first.

I've got some personal knowledge that backs this up. My best runs when preparing for the marathon were night runs when I had to step carefully, keep my center of gravity low, bend my knees more, and gently place each step. When I got to lighted areas, I felt energized and picked up the pace. Those steps in the dark were also the most quiet.

I learned to keep the sound down when I took a "stalking" class at a camp in 5th grade (before Craigslist was invented). The purpose was to learn to walk as quietly as possible so you could sneak up on woodland critters. We were taught to put our toes down first then softly transition to the heel. Zero sound, like sneaking. This same concept works when running to minimize fast-paced stomping. Less stomp, more full body cushion, more natural steps, less pain, more distance, more speed.

Finally, consider going down stairs quickly. You are putting even more pressure on the body as you land from step to step. Where do you land? On the balls of the feet. Boom.

Proper sneaking technique: The Techsnique

In conclusion, if a novice runner's story, a lesson from a 5th grade stalking class, and your experience with stairs doesn't have you convinced, you're obstinate and unreasonable. Change yourself.

I'm going to begin training for barefoot running by running as quietly as possible. I've only gone for one 1.5 miles run so far. Calves were sore for days. The good sore. I've heard it's best to take it slow and build up miles to begin with. When starting a new type of exercise, it is important to build the muscles AND joints. And seriously, I'm very interested in anyone's feedback who has tried the Vibrams for distance running. Any love or hate out there?

Keep Training,
LSF

PS: Couldn't you imagine Todd and Margo (aka Elaine Benes) from Christmas Vacation wearing Vibrams? I mean, where do I get these reflective couple's track suits and a liter of Evian these days? Also, neon green shelves. Every futuristic home in the past should have neon green shelves.

Fun Runs Are Dumberer

My place of work held the 2nd Annual Jingle Bell Fun Run last Friday. Didn't cost anything. Didn't know how long it would be. DID know that costumes were encouraged. DID see this dog on the flyer advertising it. Not going was not an option.

Digression: Seriously though, time out. I don't think anyone, of any species, has been this embarrassed to be photographed in a dorky costume since Ralphie walked down his stairs on Christmas morning. And here it comes, animal caption:

Just don't show the other dogs OK?

Just like Bob Saget owning video captions on AFHV. Now back to our show...

As I reached the starting line. The typical Christmas fun run costumes started showing up. Elves, Santa, a present. The guy organizing the race pumped everyone up with a sweet safety brief (wait, so I SHOULDN'T run into other people?). We got the, "Ready, Set, GO!" and took off.

8-10 minutes later I was the 2ND ANNUAL JINGLE BELL FUN RUN CHAMPION!!! Finishing 1st Overall with a time of... there is no such thing. It's not timed, there is no winner, it's just running. People are just running/walking/skipping the same route, untimed in ridiculous getups. That's what a fun run is. Anarchy.

So why run? 1.4 miles ain't going to challenge the old physical endurance threshold too much. You're not going to see beautiful sights along the run. You may break a sweat, but that's about it. I ran to socialize and race against actual people rather than my Garmin. Half of that I could have done in my office, in the cafeteria at work, or at the bar (at work. Yep, a bar at my work).

Oh well. First is first. It's fun to dominate even when it's small beans.

Keep training,
LSF

Should You Marathon?

I didn't just run the marathon to run a marathon. It was an experience I'll remember with pride for my entire life, not even sarcastic. I now understand the hardships, joy, and culture that surround this freakish sporting event and can recommend it or not to friends and future clients. So you, dear reader, are about to get the lowdown on something you may be considering in your future. The following are pros and cons of training for and running a full marathon based on the assumption that you are not increasing your workout time:

Physical:

+Athletic and Aesthetic:  From the waist down, you are going to look great. I don't care how slow your metabolism is, you can't eat enough to keep the pounds on when running 40+ miles per week. Dudes and dudettes, I hate to set a double standard but women are going to love the results on themselves a lot more than men.

-String Bean Arms:  Bros, it's going to happen if you sacrifice time with the free-weights to go running. I lifted a couple of times a week for the first couple of months but the road eventually catches up to the bis and tris. I maintained some good definition in my biceps, back, and shoulders from keeping my arms up for hours at a time.

+Good Hurt:  Like any kind of workout. Your legs let your muscles know when you pushed yourself. On a 3 month timeline this rarely happened to me because I was cautiously avoiding...

-Bad Hurt:  When you pushed bones, ligaments, and tendons too hard. A little pain turns into more pain turns into an injury. When you run 3 miles further than you've ever run in your life, it's going to shock the system. 

Mental:

+/-Confidence:  Setting the elusive PR (personal record, not Puerto Rico) is what every runner seeks to do. Knowing that you haven't peaked just yet is a great confidence boost. At the same time, there is ALWAYS somebody better than you. Maybe somebody smaller, older, heavier. He or she is out there and will smoke you. Hey at least your butt looks TOIGHT.

-Too Repetitive:  A lot of non-runners get caught up in this. I don't get bored on new roads, I kinda get bored on routes I've run 10 times, and I 700% get bored on a treadmill, even with WWE Monday Night RAW on a TV screen in front of me. Music, Podcasts or audio books help a lot of people.

Social:

+Friendly Folks:  It's a supportive, friendly community out there. People are humble, welcoming, and congratulatory when you accomplish your goals and they're sympathetic when you don't. I joined a social networking website to log my miles and people randomly friended me and congratulated me on good runs. No agenda, just super nice people. PS: Dailymile.com is a great place to log miles regardless of the social aspect.

+Easy-ish On The Wallet:  You'll go through a pair of shoes in just a couple of months. You'll spend some money on non-chafing shirts and skivvies, a GPS, a heart-rate monitor, cold weather gear, race registrations, a water bottle holder and maybe some mid-run nutrition or club fees. However, you're not paying for any rentals, pads, balls/pucks, mats, greens fees, or lift-tickets.

+Year Round Season:  If you're tough and get some non-slip kicks or live south of the Mason-Dixon.

+Solo:  You don't need other people to play but it's nice when you do.

+/-Spectator Sport:  How many people do you know tuned in to any fast paced, nail biting, edge of your seat marathons this year? I think I watched the NYC Marathon for about 10 minutes and switched it to football. Remember that repetitive thing I mentioned? Howeverrrrrr, I did use my lunch break during the Boston Marathon to see a buddy (and 2000 other people) pass. Everyone was having a blast. I intend to do it right and take the day off work to optimize my cheering this coming year. The marathon is a city-wide party in most places.

Bottom-line:

Ladies, absolutely go for it.

Gentlemen, I'm glad I did it. Going for it once was a great goal. I will probably continue to run 5Ks to continue the social and fitness aspects and this I recommend 100% for both genders. Really though guys, there is a "Je ne sais quois" aspect of marathoning that can be best explained in pictures. At the end of the day, who would you rather be?

vs. 

I'm giving Jiu Jitsu another shot this month. More on that later.

Keep training,

LSF

Marathon Results

I crossed the finish line today. Left it all on the road. Heart of a champion, legs of a virgin marathon runner. I passed like 2,000 people, at least. Owned the uphills. Took some pictures. Finished with glory. Went to get my space blanket. Keep me warm -- fail. Flap around in the wind, hit me in the face, and keep me from seeing things -- win.

I wasn't real happy crossing the finish line because I thought my GPS was a liar. I was ready to throw it over the bow of the Titanic like Kate Winslett. There's really no better way to get rid of something than the Titanic Toss. Screw my husband I am done with this marriage: ring over the bow of the Titanic. I don't need a college degree!: crumpled final exam over the bow of the Titanic. I am done with this hamburger!!!: wrapper over the bow of the Titanic. Try to argue, impossible. The final time on my GPS read 3:45. Exactly my Objective goal. I don't think I published this so let's review:

Threshhold: 4:00. Achieve this to avoid scrub status.
Objective: 3:45. Achieve this for stud status.

I saw the Garmin's 3:45 and was pumped. HOWEVER, I came into the stadium with 4:02 on the official clock. Scrub status. Whatever, "Just cruise in, get this over with, get a shower, and get a nap." When all of a sudden, a GIRL tried to pass me. Aw HAIL NAW. So I sprinted to the end with my crappy 4:03.

My knees hurt, ankles hurt, hips hurt, nauseous. All I could do was zombie walk to the metro. Left it ALL on the road, that means I'm better than that 65 year old that happily walked past me right?

At this point I completely, 100% understand old people. Some college-age kids tried to hand me some fliers, I glared. The kind of glare that says, "Get that out my face." I was on the metro. Started to get a jumbly in my tumbly. What are my options? I could walk out of the metro, that would take 20 minutes and sneak into McDonald's (again). I could wait for the metro and go back to my hotel. That would take 30 minutes. I could go right here... that would take 0 minutes... options were weighed. I decided that I should have packed Depends and waited it out. I went back to my hotel, showered, slept for 3 hours and felt a lot better. I checked the final results on the marathon website:

Start:	00:36 (time behind race start)
5km:	29:00
10km:	56:11
21,1km:	1:56:57
30km:	2:45:11
Finish:	3:47:46

3:47:46 final time. Forgot to account for the time behind the race start. I'll take it. Still not sure how 4:02 minus 36 minutes = 3:47. I could have been hallucinating at that point. Or maybe the Greeks are really bad at math.


The finish line was in this stadium.

Keep training,
LSF

PS: This time qualifies me for the Boston Marathon... in the 60-64 age bracket as well as the Blind/Visually Impaired Division and Mobility Impaired Program. Unfortunately my age, eyesight, and mobility do not.