Have you ever had something so fixed in your mind, that you missed the main point?
The other day I was channel surfing and saw a movie title that I thought was about American Indian shoes and how they were going out of style and therefore would soon be gone for ever. What I thought I read was "The Last of the Moccasins" was really the "Last of the Mohican's".
Well, if you have seen the movie, then you know it is a great movie and I was pleasantly surprised with it. If you haven't seen it, take the time, it will be worth it.
That is kind of how I was feeling when getting ready for my latest Marathon quest. My mind had been set that this would be a typical city marathon through typical city streets with nothing really being out of the ordinary or special.
Now of course, I can tell you I was in for a shock, this one is dubbed as a clone of the Boston Marathon and I now believe they are right.
This day started out just fine at about 55 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We all get in our designated area in the corral for the start. About 4,000 souls will attempt the marathon and about 8,000 will do the half. Standing in the shadows of the Camden Yard Baseball stadium with helicopters from local TV above and millions of pieces of confetti floating, the gun went off and off we went through the downtown area of Baltimore.
This is another great old city that was and is a major port and the center of commerce for Maryland. One thing they gave us was a sticker that said "FULL" indicating a full marathon as opposed to "HALF" for the half, and told us to put it on the back of our shirts. By mile 5 no stickers were on our backs (except for the insightful folks that actually pinned them on) and were instead on the streets and the bottom of our shoes. You could hear a symphony of 'Scratch,Kick, Scratch' along with a chorus of "What dumb idea!" and "What the hell were they thinking?" It created a good rhythm and it was in surround sound created by 8,000 feet pounding, so the first miles just went by without much thought.
This route goes out and then comes back to near the starting line where the half marathoners join in. The half started at 2 hours after the start of the full, so I managed to be passing half way point when the half marathoners joined in. This can be a little disheartening since the halfers have fresh feet and high hopes, while the fullers have sore feet and a fair amount of dread. Oh well, suck it up.
The part of the race that resembles the Boston race are the miles 16-22 where you are greeted with an endless series of hills. It just so happens that this is also when the temperature starts rising. You have warm air, thousands of runners and endless hills. To help with the numbness you begin to feel, we at least had new stickers for the bottom of our shoes thanks to the halfers.
Though the music and symphony did have a new edge to it and some of the lyrics I can't repeat here, it was very difficult to cruise.
At mile 22 they say it is all down hill from here. The problem is I ran out of gas at mile 21. It is a rookie mistake and I end up paying for it in the end. I finish the second half taking 13 more minutes than my first half.
The finishers get tickets for 2 free beers and the parking lot of the M&K stadium (where the Baltimore Ravens play) has a live band and to top it off, Kimberly found me a chair. Nothing can compare with sitting in the bright sun, drinking a little refreshment along with 11,000 people that dared to put their feet to the starting line. Beyond words, really.
A few days later I get back to work and slide into my cube as I ready myself for the "how" I get to do these races and I hear voices in the background:
"Oh my gawd, it took me 40 minutes on Route 28 today, can you believe it?"
"I know, I was there and we were doing, like, 10 forever and then, poof, we were doing 75."
"Me ,too. But get this, when I had to stop for my Dunkin Donuts since I was sooo stressed out, the person in front of my car ordered, like 10 gift certificates, can you believe that? During rush hour, some people are so inconsiderate."
"Oh my gawd!"
Hmmmm.
Truth be told, it was an Algonquin, not a Mohican that saved the day in the "Last of the Mohican's", but I suppose it sounded better than "The Last of the Algonquins".
How is it that you think you know what you are getting into and so sure you know it, to only find out that it is nothing like what you had in mind originally?
The career I thought I had turns out to just be a job, while the jog I first tried with my dog Charlie for 1 block, 15 years ago turned out to be the passion that filled the void from not having a career.
Hmmmm, go figure!
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