What to say.
I did not make my goal time. Not by a long shot!
I DID finish! That’s what counts.
Here’s the story:
Up until mile 8, every single split was spot on. The race was going perfect! All of a sudden, my right knee kicked in with ITBS. I couldn’t believe it! I NEVER have difficulties with my knees. *sigh*
MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I chatted about this post race and figured that it was probably due to all the sightseeing and stairs to and from the trains. Everywhere you go there are stair. LOTS of stairs. IRL, this wouldn’t be a problem but we live in a single story ranch and I hardly ever do stairs. Oh well…
The first couple of aid stations were a zoo. Very congested. Lots of crunched cups on the ground. It was an obstacle course of people and litter. Things started to thin out after that and they weren’t so bad.
Dummy me didn’t figure out until after the 13.1 mark that the little blue lines painted on the road were the tangent markings for the route. Duh. I had been trying so hard to avoid other runners and aid station cups that I really dropped the ball on that. My total finishing distance (gospel according to Garmin: 27.73 miles).
Once the ITBS kicked in at mile 8, I had to walk a bit every single mile to keep my leg from completely seizing up. Boo. You just do what you have to do to finish! I’ve never had a DNF (Did Not Finish) and I wasn’t going to get my first one yesterday! That’s for darned sure! So, I did a lot of running and a LOT more walking than I would have liked. This was the first time ever that I have walked in a marathon. It also ended up being my second slowest marathon ever.
BUT~I finished!!!
At the 15 mile mark, I met a man from a small town in Germany that was having a really tough time. Poor man. Bless his heart! I stopped and walked about a half mile with him. Tried to cheer him up. Chatted with him about his little town…that kind of thing. When he said he was going to walk the rest of it, I thought, “Yikes!” and wished him a good day and good race and started running again.
It was a beautiful day in Germany yesterday. Picture perfect racing weather! I can’t blame yesterdays bad finishing time on the weather, that’s for sure. Just dumb bad luck. 🙂
Right about at the last 5K point, MFH was there to cheer me on. He hollered at me and said, “Only 5K to go! That means only 15 minutes!” Hahaha!!! He’s such a joker.
There were a lot of turns in that last 5K of the race. We passed the 40K mark (a marathon is 42K and change) and I thought to myself, “Sweet! Almost there!” I thought the sign had said 42K. I was very, very wrong. Oops! We kept turning corners and I didn’t see the Brandenburg Gate! I kept looking for it. It’s not like it’s a tiny landmark in Berlin or anything. I turned to a man running along side of me and said (fortunately for me, he understood English) “I think they moved this Gate during the race.” He thought that was hilarious. Apparently he had been thinking the same thing. Hahaha!!!
About 2 blocks from the finish line is where you run through the Brandenburg Gate. Boy, it that an experience!!! It gives you chills to run through that thing!
My goal time was shot. I knew that. I was just happy to be done. I was thrilled to have run this event! I had run through the gate. I could see the finish line.
Now, bear in mind there are cameras and stuff everywhere. Race course photographers and all. All of a sudden, this TV camera crew steps in front of me and wants to interview me…before I’ve finished!!! UGH! The clock is still ticking. I was a little frustrated. Like I said, I knew my finish time was shot but still…
The TV guy asked me my name and where I was from. I told him. He then asked me if I was celebrating anything while in Germany. I told him MFH and I were celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary while we were here.
He had been waiting for me, you see…
So, he says, this song’s for you as you successfully complete the Berlin Marathon and they started playing the Wedding March while I finished the race!!!
How awesome is that!?!
The perfect ending to a great, albeit difficult race. This is one for the books, y’all. I don’t know of anybody else, ever, who has completed a WMM (World Marathon Major) race being accompanied by the Wedding March~just for them!
THAT is my recap of the Berlin Marathon. Best. Race. Ever.
