That NY Marathon Glow

After my last post, I think I owe you some uplifting news.

Running has definitely changed me in a million-and-one ways...The most startling may be that I can now sit and watch people running and feel a sense of exuberance instead of boredom. I wonder if non-runners watching races on TV feel how I do when I watch golf.

But I feel a vicarious thrill when I watch running on TV now, and the NY Marathon had everything you could want from a televised event. There were poignant stories about runners overcoming Hurricane Sandy, runners covering the 26.2 in honor of Boston, runners leading their fellow tribesman* to the finish...

Click for the full story.

I can hardly watch and not feel my heart swell. I am so honored to be part of this community.

Click for the full story.

Here are some awesome stories and pictures from the NY Marathon this weekend. Over 50,000 people ran. Each one has a different motivation and story behind their decision to become a runner. I could read these stories all day long.

Click for the full story.

Runner's World has a beautiful collection of photos from this year's marathon that captured the beauty of it, but also the new security measures taken after Boston. I opted to focus on the beauty:

All three photos taken from here.

And of course, there's always a heartwarming story following the elite runners. This year's big story was Meb, who admitted to being under-trained and had a bad race. (I love that his "bad race" would be a race I can't imagine running in my wildest dreams.)

Like the true class-act that he is, Meb describes how he kept himself going even when he felt he'd hit the wall. He and Cassidy crossed the finish line together. The moral here is that even the elite runners have bad days and need to put the time into their training; the second moral is that running is about more than just winning.

Click for his interview...seriously so moving and wonderful to watch.

As if we needed a reminder of that.

Oh, and one more picture from the Runner's World slideshow I just loved. Here's Lusapho April from South Africa after he crossed the finish line in 2:09. I may be a turtle in comparison, but I definitely know this feeling.

Pure, unadulterated joy.

If that doesn't leave you with a smile on your face, I don't know what will.

What were your favorite stories to come out of the NY Marathon this week?
Have you ever paced someone or helped someone dig deep to get to the finish?
What is your favorite part of being a member of this glorious tribe?

ABK

*For those that are new to my blog, I use the word "tribe" to describe this huge, world-spanning family of runners to which we all belong. It comes from Once A Runner, one of my all-time favorite running novels. If you haven't picked up it, do!

In The News

Today, Matt came across this story about a girl who dressed as a Boston Marathon victim for Halloween.

(I won't post a picture of the costume, but there is one in the link.)

The headline sums it up nicely, really. This whole thing quickly became a shitshow.

My initial reaction, looking at her costume, was that she's clearly a runner because she had the gear to put this costume together, but that she must not really know what it means to be a member of the "running community." Matt's response was that she doesn't know what it means to be a member of any community.

Further insight into the article shows that she's made multiple dumb decisions...and these decisions led to this most recent one - the costume - becoming a huge deal.

I'm not condoning the response by any means. I think calling her home, threatening her parents, etc, is beyond gross. She deserved backlash, but not at all the way it escalated.

Took the words right out of my mouth, Rebecca Brown

 I also don't find her apology to sound genuine. Her "I made a mistake" excuse is probably one she used for posting her license online and posting nude photos to Tumblr. Clearly this girl doesn't learn from her mistakes. Not to mention that she seems to go back and forth on accepting responsibility and claiming she thought the costume was perfectly acceptable.

And don't get me started on the whole, "I have a friend whose dad was in the marathon and he was okay with it so..." To me, that smacks of "I have a black friend so I can't be racist" and other such excuses. It's pathetic tripe.

When did being offensive become the equivalent to being funny? Where did genuine humor and wit go?

As a runner (hell, as a human being), I don't know how someone could think of the Boston Marathon bombing and think of it as fodder for Halloween. To me, that would be as bad as dressing up as a 9/11 victim for Halloween. How is that at all funny or acceptable?

Really, I'm just saddened by the whole thing. It's ugly on all sides.

Had you seen this story before today?
What are your thoughts on the costume? On the response?

ABK

Can This Count as Tapering?

Two weeks ago I had a solid running week and a 10k. Last week I had a low-mileage week and a 15k.

This week I ran 0 miles. I was exhausted and volleyball made things difficult. I could tell that my exhaustion wasn't normal...

Sure enough, I woke up today intending to do 7 or 8 miles and immediately realized 1) I couldn't breathe, and 2) my throat was on fire. I can't even draw in enough breath to cough, and my ear canals feel like they're burning.

I blame student-generated germs.

I'd run through a sore throat, but when I get a cold that affects my asthma, I need to be down for the count. My half is this weekend. I wonder if I can do low-mileage this week as I recover and still run the half in a semi-decent time.

(I was planning to do some bridge work this week because I haven't at all and I have to run a pretty steep bridge twice for this half...but I figure at this point, I just need to suck it up and accept that my training has been spotty.)

The bridge I'll need to be running...pretty darn steep.

In happy news, I'm signed up for the ALSO Youth 5k Turkey Trot! I'm so excited. I ran it last year (when  it was a 10k) right after my half and didn't have time to recover, but this year there's some more time between. Plus I get to run it with Matt, Steph, and Gordon! Fun times.

Nothing like a fun race that actually benefits a good cause!

Any insights into how to treat this week's runs?
How was your Halloween?
How do you fix a killer cold?

ABK