26.2 miles and still standing

What a day! I crossed the finish line with a time of 4:13:23. I'm very satisfied with that number. Even better, I can still walk! Although a couple of toenails may have to be sacraficed. A small price to pay. I'm stiff and sore in the hips and knees but other than that I feel pretty good.

It was cold. In fact, at the water stations that were in the shade they had the problem that ice was forming on the pavement. That made for some fun. And at the start it was too cold for the airhorn to work. But the Sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. I never felt the urge to take off my gloves or hat so it wasn't that warm but it was OK.

I got to see my family at miles 6 and 13.1, which was such a boost. I never had to walk any part of the race (I walked through the drink stations but that was planned - I'm just not talented enough to run while drinking from a dixie cup without most of it going up my nose). The finish was amazing with so many people cheering for those last 0.2 miles. It was a really great race.

And now I'm off for a celebratory dinner and some ibuprofen.