Master of One

If I hadn't become a runner I might not have the opportunity to take pictures like this one. Today marked the end of my heavy training for the Philly Marathon in three weeks. I ran 20 miles this morning and on my second trip through the Navy Yard, around mile 9 I stopped for 30 seconds to take this and stretch my hamstrings.

It is fully fall here in Philly, the temperature not getting above 45 degrees this morning, but the sun was out and the Delaware River was calm and peaceful. This shot has been edited with Google tools and I like the way it pulls out the few puffy clouds. Over the course of three hours the sky went from completely cloudless to only slightly cloudy, though the breeze did come up a bit to make the inward leg a bit harder than the outward. All in all, though, it was another beautiful day to be out, though I'd like to take a second to say, "Fuck! I ran for three hours and ten minutes straight!"

I learned a couple of things about distance running today. First, my body is ready for the marathon. Yes, my quads asked me to stay away from stairs for a few hours afterwards, but they'll be fine tomorrow. Second, I need to find something to eat in addition to my energy pudding before heading out. It's fine through about two hours, but I was getting hungry, so I guess I was starting to burn fat. Not that that's a bad thing, in conjunction with GU at regular intervals, but it was distracting me. Lastly, I have to focus on keeping my mind occupied. I don't know that I was bored, exactly, but after two and a half hours I needed some sort of stimulation besides singing the same song over again. Yes, Indestructible is a great song, and fittingly appropriate for me right now, but let's move on to something else, shall we?

I have to think that I will be happily stimulated on race day by being surrounded by other runners, by being in an actual race, by accomplishing what I set out to do way back in June. I continue to smile at those moments when I picture the end of the race and that sense of triumph I will feel. Hell, I've already planned my next tattoo will be the race logo (trademark infringement!). I'm even planning to improve for my next race. It's interesting to me that, while I often profess and try to live by a creed of laissez-faire, I don't settle for "just good enough" in my running. I want to excel once I've made this first marker.

Here's the wishful thinking moment. I wish that I could hire a trainer and do nothing but run better, wherever and whenever I want, and when I'm not running I'm practicing philanthropy. That would be a perfect world.