Guess what? Mama and I ran our first marathon this morning--the IMT Des Moines Marathon! And we survived. For a long time I've wondered what one is like. The one who started the marathon was Pheidippidies, a Greek soldier who ran the distance to deliver a message. For him, the run ended in death. Yet, hundreds of thousands of people go run marathon races every year. So Mama and I decided to find out what it's all about.
The first half marathon went pretty well. I was at 1:47:44. I felt great, and was having fun. But the last half I deteriorated immensely. It wasn't that I was tired. It was just I was in a lot of pain. Soon I had old men who were walking half the time and running half the time ahead of me. While most people passing me looked pretty good, there was one guy who would occasionally cry out in pain. At times I felt like doing the same, but managed to control myself. I hadn't trained very well for this, and now I was feeling it. So I decided to walk. But, to my dismay, walking felt even worse than running. So back to running I went. As I jogged along, viewing the scenery and my fellow runners, I contemplated, "Why are all these people doing this to themselves?" With a mile left, I once again decided to stop to walk. Then came along two kind ladies who encouraged me to stick with them. They were a big help to me. And so we finished. My time was 4:02:31. Mama wasn't far behind, and she said she felt good the whole race. She had trained a lot harder than me, and it paid off. We were very thankful for the opportunity to do this together! Now the question is, "When's the next marathon?" Come on, start training and join us next year! It is a fun experience you are sure to not forget. www.desmoinesmarathon.com/
The first half marathon went pretty well. I was at 1:47:44. I felt great, and was having fun. But the last half I deteriorated immensely. It wasn't that I was tired. It was just I was in a lot of pain. Soon I had old men who were walking half the time and running half the time ahead of me. While most people passing me looked pretty good, there was one guy who would occasionally cry out in pain. At times I felt like doing the same, but managed to control myself. I hadn't trained very well for this, and now I was feeling it. So I decided to walk. But, to my dismay, walking felt even worse than running. So back to running I went. As I jogged along, viewing the scenery and my fellow runners, I contemplated, "Why are all these people doing this to themselves?" With a mile left, I once again decided to stop to walk. Then came along two kind ladies who encouraged me to stick with them. They were a big help to me. And so we finished. My time was 4:02:31. Mama wasn't far behind, and she said she felt good the whole race. She had trained a lot harder than me, and it paid off. We were very thankful for the opportunity to do this together! Now the question is, "When's the next marathon?" Come on, start training and join us next year! It is a fun experience you are sure to not forget. www.desmoinesmarathon.com/