Vermont City Marathon (aka Tour de Port-o-let)

I ran the Vermont City Marathon yesterday. Completed the race in about 4:05 (haven't checked the official results), but the time for this run was inconsequential. It was all about finishing, mainly because of my limited training. As I wrote of here, I pulled my calf on March 15, and I've been working my way back ever since. My recovery included a bunch of small relapses for a few weeks, no running for about 3 weeks, and then, finally, a conservative, rebuilding schedule that topped out at a two hour run two weeks ago. There was no risk of being overtrained on race day, that was for sure.

My goals for the marathon were 1. Don't re-injure myself, 2. Finish, 3. Experiment with pace by going out slowly and trying to finish strong. I'm glad to report that I didn't suffer any injuries, I finished and I went out relatively slowly and finished with a couple of 9:30-ish miles. I was happy with that... especially given my gastro-intestinal situation for the race. I'll skip the details and leave it at this: Over the course of 26.2 miles, I urinated in a field on the side of a road and visited three pot-o-potties and a gas station. My stomach was not right throughout.

My big story for this race, though, was the feeling I had afterwards. Unlike past marathons where I felt like I left something on the table and had to try again, I finished yesterday feeling that I was done with this distance for a while. It wasn't a negative feeling, like I was defeated or had a negative experience, I just don't have a reason to go back right now. I'm ready to move on to things like biking, maybe some tri's and definitely some half marathons. The marathon provides anyone who finishes with a huge sense of accomplishment. That is worthwhile. But it also hurts. It's a painful race, and without a real reason to run -- a reason that drives you to push through the pain -- it's not happening. After four marathons in two years, I don't have a compelling need or reason to do another.

I'm very excited by this new development. A new phase of long distance training begins for me today...ok, maybe tomorrow. Today, I rest.