Ahh Trent,

I was about to post a link to that article. You beat me to it.

Enjoy a good laugh at my expense. I'm here to buoy your self-esteem

DM

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Tweek. I always call the marathon a crapshoot; I guess this time that was pretty literal.

I'm not going to argue the point since people who feel otherwise tend to get offended, but I agree 100% with Casa and Marcus up there. I'm enormously proud of you for finishing the thing and not taking a DNF. Especially with this particular problem. Nothing is worse.

If you look back through old posts you can find me similarly impressed after the first Monkey marathon by a runner named Sam Green, who basically crawled to the finish. She had nothing to prove, she's way faster than most of us, but her body failed her - and most people would have quit. She didn't. No matter what. To me, that matters a hell of a lot more than finishing fast.

To tell the truth, I'm more impressed with your 4:10 than I would have been with a BQ. You're obviously going to do it sooner or later. But anybody with enough talent and discipline can do it. A BQ is about your training and your effort.

What you did yesterday was about your character.

In the long run, that matters infinitely more than beating some arbitrary time.

Rather than be ashamed of yesterday's run, I think you should consider it a badge of honor. I really do. It says a lot more about who you are than a 3:39 would.

Just my dos pesos.

Quote from davemilner on 4/7/2008 at 3:36 AM:

Hey, Dave!

Dave, dude, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing with you. No wait, I'm actually not laughing at all. Did I mention the chaffing? Ohhhh the chaffing!! Ill respond to the rest of you guys later. I'm typing this on my phone and it sucks. Thanks for supporting candice poppie pants though. I love you all, and ill have my revenge soon. I'm not defeated. Maybe next time ill wear depends or something. The chaffing from doing that couldn't possibly be any worse. I think my husband may divorce me.

Quote from davemilner on 4/7/2008 at 2:01 PM:

Yep. As you can see from my log, better to shoot for a beer. Any of you Nashville folks up for Yazoo this Thursday?

Bill Bowerman said the following of Steve Prefontaine

"All my life, man and boy, I've operated under the assumption that the main idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a coach I tried to teach people how to do that. Tried to teach Pre how to do that. Tried like hell to teach Pre to do that. And Pre taught me. Taught me I was wrong. Pre, you see, was troubled by knowing that a mediocre effort can win a race and a magnificent effort can lose one. Winning a race wouldn't necessarily demand that he give it everything he had from start to finish. He never ran any other way."

Candice, you gave a magnificent effort. Good job.

It happens.

I could catalogue all my bad races for you, and it would be tome too long and dull. A DNF may have left you with a hurt that takes longer to heal. I've had the DNF, and it took longer to recover from than it should have. It sounds like you have retained your sanity and your will. That is the most important thing. The most important tool for any good runner is the mind. Without the drive and the focus and the desire - we are nothing.

Make sure you recover well. Spin the legs on an easy bike ride, take some walks, do some gardening. Whatever. You will come back stronger. But be patient.

Quote from Casa on 4/7/2008 at 12:07 AM:

Sorry that you owe him a beer

The worst part of the whole thing I think is that everyone who's been around me during my training the last few months believed in me. Everyone thought I would do it yesterday. I thought I would do it yesterday. I held it in my hand for 17 miles.

When I realized I wasn't even going to come close to doing it, I didn't feel as bad for myself as much as I felt unworthy of every piece of advice or help that anyone has given me. I was ashamed to be in the position my body put me in (well- who wouldn't be lol) and I just wanted to rip the 3:40 pace bib off my back, stomp on it, and throw a fit. But I left it there. I figured it might help someone who thought they were having it rough feel better about themselves seeing someone who was 30 minutes off pace.

Maybe it's what I get for not appreciating my PR in Las Vegas enough. Who knows.


MTA: Oh and, I think running a personal worst would have been a much worse feeling for me than running like... I dunno, a 3:43. At least a 3:43 would have been a PR.