Marathonman Runs Again! Mission Accomplished

"Quitting is not an option"
This past Sunday I completed the "ING Hartford Marathon." 4+ months of training on the Cheshire (CT) Linear Trail and local roads finally paid off. During that time, I ran a total of 380 miles, including four 5K and three Half Marathons from June 8 to October 10 to prepare. OK, so I'm including the New Haven Road Race as a Half Marathon...12.4 miles is close enough! Enough babbling...I ran a 4:22.19, which was 30 minutes faster than my first marathon back on May 4th in Providence. I almost accomplished my goal of averaging 10 minute miles, missing by one freakin' second. I knew the bathroom breaks in the woods would eventually catch up with me! Oh well. I have discovered that carb loading definitely works. You might say I'm a "Carboholic." I follow a schedule I found online, where I stuff my face with as many carbs as I can 3 days before, especially for breakfast and dinner. (I'm so sick of Bruegger's bagels right now). Then I do less complex carbs and more simple carbs for days 2 and 1. Marathon day I'm carrying about 2 extra pounds of bagels and pasta, which works wonders as I chug by the "carbless" runners towards the end, who are walking or just giving up. I must say that gooping my toes with vasoline was the way to go...no purple toes or lost toenails, like what happened by running Providence vasoline free. Live and learn I guess. As far as Hartford, what a fun race. LOTS of cheering spectators and a very fair course. Best about it was there was plenty of fellow marathoners willing to engage in conversation with me. Miles 12 to 15 were made easier by to women running their first marathons, one from Durham, and the other from I forget where. Of course I forget their names, but if they happen to read this, "thanks" and "great job." Then there's "Laura," the "Wonder Woman" of running. She and I talked on and off for several miles. During that time I found out that she has her own blog, http://absolutlyfit.blogspot.com/, which is well worth reading. She's an inspiration to anyone contemplating running. I hope to run again with her, if not, she'll be remembered as one of those people I've met in my life whose made an impact on me. Anyhow, it's 2 days post marathon, I'm walking ok, just a little leg pain, so life is good! Now I've got to figure out what's next major race wise....probably the Manchester CT Thanksgiving Day race. If you haven't run the 4.78 mile course with 10,000 others, you've missed a lot of fun. Speaking of fun, the Christopher Martin's 5K race (New Haven, CT) in December is the best post race party in the world! 5 kegs of beer flowing, plus lots of food. I'll be in the front row at the bar, drinking and passing the cups of beer!!