QOTD
"I think you're crazy. This whole thing doesn't make any sense."
- Old man on the sidewalk hassling some poor runner schlub who cramped up during the marathon
Hey, fuck that old man. Here's a better one.

QOTD2
"RUN BILL RUN!"
- I saw this sign 3-4 times while running, but I never saw their Bill
My marathon result today: a B (see previous post for grading scale... he he)
I ran the thing in 3 hour, 44 minute, 42 second.
That's an 8 minute, 35 second pace for the run. Huzzah!

Here's the "official" tally: Lakefront Marathon 2008 Results (you have to search for me)
If you don't want to search for me, here's some of my favorite stats:
  • I placed 489 out of 2009 runners
  • I finished 66th out of the 160 45-50 males
  • My splits: Halfway 1:49:57, 20 mile 2:48:38
It was a bit weird because the conditions were dang near ideal (and 10x better than last year)... and yet I never really got comfortable or found my groove. I've had much better feeling training runs. In fact, my halfway split last year in the heat and humidity was faster than this year.

What else?
  • I'm happy that I didn't cramp up or break down. My legs were twitchy, but they never gave out.
  • I'm really happy that I had a kick at the end. I wanted to beat 3:45, and I kicked pretty hard the last half mile to make sure of that.
  • I'm even happier that I'm now retiring from the marathon business. I'm a sprinter baby. Maybe I'll try and run some fast 10K's next year or something.
  • So, I figger... at 3:45... I'm not a marathon tourist, but I'm not a "real" marathoner either. I'll take "rank amateur" or maybe "marathon hack"... yeah, I like that. I was a marathon hack for a couple-a years.
I was philosophical while running. It occurred to me, when I realized that a Boston-qualifying 3:30 was not going to happen... it occurred to me that this is a typical 40-something victory... bittersweet. God, it was a sweet feeling to have that kick at the end, and to run under 3:45. It was great to not limp in to the finish. It was bitter to not do better and to not have felt really comfortable in the race.

It appears that the world-dominating victories of my 20's and 30's will not be repeated. 40-something victory is a good time, but not a great time. It's thyroid cancer, but you probably got rid of it. It's learning something new, even though you're never going to plant a flag anywhere doing it. It's a rubber band around your wrist to remind you of your kids, and that they mean you have it all. 40-something victory is less sharp, a little more rounded around the edges. Like my 3:45 time... hey, it's pretty good.

Oh well. I tip my cap to Mr. Marathon. Crusty old man. There's no faking it with that guy. That's kind of nice, I think.
peace... yow, bill

PS - Happy 39th birthday Kim39.
PPS - It's 4 years since Gram died today too. Gram's stubbornness continues on... at least in the half-assed, diluted form that is Bill 40-something Krieger.

QOTD3
"With Gram, you always knew there was somebody who would be happy to see you."
- Brian Krieger

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