Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon (Part Two)

This is a continuation of the previous post, Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon (Part One).

The comeback

Somewhere while walking that 19th mile in Anacostia Park, I caught up to a guy who was literally dragging his right leg behind him. He told me that he heard a pop in his hamstring two weeks prior to the race, but wanted to try it anyway. The injury caught up to him faster than he could make it to the finish line. Nevertheless, he was determined to try and walk it out to the end. We chatted for a while until he decided that he needed to check out of the race at the approaching medical tent. Further on I trudged for another few hundred yards.

Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon (Part One)

It was the best of races, it was the worst of races. The running of the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll USA marathon took place on March, 17, 2012. The intervening time has given me some distance to really think about the totality of the race and the day as a whole. Here is my best effort at a rehash, in order to share the experience and offer suggestions so that we can all (myself included) learn from it. It may be long, but I promise it won’t take you as long to read as it does to run 26.2 miles.

The preparation

I was mentally ready for this race. Those who know me, know that I was fully in my zone for the week leading up to the day. Tons of water. Nuts about sleep. Plenty of quirks. I have run the marathon twice before, but both were longer than six years ago. The nerves quietly built up inside me as the event neared. For those whom my tense personality negatively impacted in that time, possibly given to short words or crankiness, I do apologize. My first mistake: This is a big deal. It is important. If all goes well, it is a great accomplishment. But it is still just a race. The more love that surrounds us going into it, the better we feel at the end.