This is going to be underwhelming, unlike most of my posts, which are undeniably epic.
Now that I've run the race of a lifetime, I feel strangely subdued by it.
It’s been three weeks since I wobbled across the finish line on Boylston Street, 21 seconds away from even a PR, and no closer to having caught up with Nell than I was before.
While I cannot deny the
disappointment I felt for not meeting my race goal, said disappointment is entombed
beyond hope of retrieval under such a
surfeit of joy that it’s barely there at all.
I did manage a satisfying 5k
PR a couple of days before the marathon, and that , while just a consolation
prize, is nevertheless quite enough to salve my runner’s ego.
But, more than that...
...There is the satisfaction
of having been able to raise more funds than I thought was possible (given my
crusty personality) for Action For Autism (www.autism-india.org).
Besides family and close
friends who came forward with abundant generosity, I was overwhelmed by the
altruism of people who were connected to me only by the common thread of
running, some of whom I’ve barely met.
For passionate pursuers of
an activity that is essentially egotistic in nature, it’s astounding how selfless
the running community can be.
My gratitude is
inexpressible, to those who supported the cause.
...And then, there is the
race experience in itself.
Words fall short ( Yeah, like
that has ever stopped me before...)
From watertight planning and
organization, attention to detail, and immaculate execution, to the atmosphere
on the course and in the city.
The camaraderie one feels
with the best amateur runners in the world... microfriendships struck up on the
trains and buses, at airports, on the street...
The brutally humbling stories
one hears, of odds so immense, surmounted with such grace and grit, that they make
one’s own journey to race there seem like child's play.
Small things, like free
transit to anyone wearing a medal on race day on all forms of public transport...
complete strangers walking up to shake one’s hand and talk about the race because one is wearing the
celebration jacket, in Chicago, a
whole time zone away...
In the most expensive race I have ever run, I mostly gained things money can't buy. (I did spend an unholy amount at the expo too, actually...)
In the most expensive race I have ever run, I mostly gained things money can't buy. (I did spend an unholy amount at the expo too, actually...)
This was Boston! The ride of the Unicorn.
One has to try pretty hard to come away disappointed
from such. I could try, I suppose, to
spend some time on the usual innovative grumbling and moaning that is my
trademark, but I’m afraid I have other things prioritized.
The first of which is Hyderabad, 20th
August 2017.
I hope to lop off a good two
to three minutes from the top of my last year’s 1:31 for the half on the entertainingly
harsh course there. Give or take. I don’t know. There will be little in terms
of actual training leading up to that race. Just unstructured, maintenance mileage
and a marginally increased amount of strengthening.
I feel lighter and faster, despite recent evidence otherwise. Boston was a glorious pit-stop, but a pit-stop nevertheless. There's more to be done.
