Taipei Marathon - Post Report

Well as you all know I had some things going against me pre race. I didn't sleep all that well and for sure didn't get 8 hours. But that doesn't actually matter. I had a head cold - that didn't matter. Seriously, I don't think either of these affected me. Why? I didn't let them.

I woke up on race day and thought, aw my head cold, I feel like crap. Should I bail out -- "FUCK THAT, IT'S RACE TIME." Yes, that is how I talk to myself when no one is around. You have to be your own biggest critic if you want to be great at anything. It's not that I spent so much time preparing for this race (5 weeks is nothing to prepare for a marathon), it is that I decided to do it and unless running it was really going to hurt me, I was not bailing out. My pre-race photo:

Well it was cold, the temperature fluctuated in between 11 and 12 degrees Celsius. Not bad for a marathon, a couple degrees colder than I wanted. I wore a long sleeve black shirt under the racing jersey, then some nice racing shorts with long black spandex for bottoms. It was probably the best choice of clothing to have gone with. Then I ran, I was frustrated at first because I had a hard time finding the staring line and which way to run out. So I was actually at the very back, behind all the old people. Oh man and they wouldn't let me push my way forward too far, so the start was painfully slow. Fortunately it thinned out quickly, a lot quicker than the Boston Marathon does (there were much fewer people here). After maybe 10 minutes I was able to run comfortably, it was crowded, but I could maneuver around people and move at my own pace. I was really slow at the first split I recognized. Maybe it was the 10k mark and thought that was weird because I felt I had been going fast. Then I remembered the initial hold up and decided to keep pace.

Marathons are boring. By the way, I just wanted to race. But in a marathon you have to pace yourself. So it's boring, it takes forever, even the good runners. Anyway, I hit the halfway mark a bit fast. The race was boring and my competitive nature could no longer be restrained. I changed to a specialized, pre-made playlist on my i-pod. The "Resurrection" playlist. I made this to bring me back, if I hit a wall in the marathon. I had not hit a wall at this point, I merely decided that my initial goal of 3:30 was too slow, this race was boring, I should finish faster, and all those people in front of me, well I'm better than them and should beat them. That's my competitive nature.

Then I remembered the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, for my age group, was something like a 3:10. Okay, lets pick up the pace and try to hit that. The music was good, I passed many people. Even when I was running slower and recovering I was constantly moving forward in place. I couldn't go any slower, I couldn't pace off of anyone else, I just needed to keep passing and moving forward. There were plenty of people to run by. It was great. Of course there were still many more in front of me, I'm not an elite marathon runner.

So I kicked it in. It was painful at the end, there were some downhills. I know what you're thinking, "running downhill is great!" NO, not after you've run over 20 miles. Your legs soar and every time they flex it hurts. When you run downhill your legs hit the ground harder and your muscles -those soar and aching muscles - they absorb the impact. In other words, each step hurts so much more when you have to run downhill.

I crossed the finish, running strong, in a time of 3:14 (unofficial). I didn't check the posted results, I figured I'd wait for them to post them online. So I don't know my place, although I'm eager to see my official place as well as the times that those elite runners crossed in. They were really good. After the race I was fine. I mean I was aching and in pain but it was nothing like when I ran the Boston Marathon in 2007. Back then I could hardly walk, going downstairs was torture. I feel that way now, but back then I couldn't walk down stairs - I had to fall down them. This year I could walk up and down all I wanted, it just hurt. That's what happens when you actually prepare for a marathon - it won't kill you.

All in all I'd say the marathon was good. The course wasn't great but whatever. They gave you a towel and medal after finishing. The racing jersey was sweet and the registration fee wasn't that steep.

This is how I looked after returning home: