Post-Chicago Marathon thoughts

I'm finally starting to get my legs back after Sunday's race. They were stiff as a board the couple of days after, but I'm mostly unscathed. Remember the left calf pain I was whining about before the race? Well, I've managed to turn it into ground beef now, so it will take a little time to rehab it back into shape. No real harm done, I hope.

I'm still on a little bit of a high after finishing that 26.2 mile monster. Despite the major malfunction I had after mile 18, I'm very happy with the result. I. can't. begin. to describe how magical the moment was when that medal went around my neck after crossing the finish line. As I mentioned in my previous race report, I just held it tightly in my hand for quite a while afterwards. I now understand how addicting that feeling can be. I am hooked.

You see, in the running world there are these things we call "PR's" or "PB's" (Personal Records or Personal Bests). And there are these numbers attached to them indicating your finish times. These are meant to be broken. So the 4:54:38 time I have in the marathon, will soon fall. This is my new goal.

One thing is certain, I will be back to run Chicago in 2009. I have another crazy idea of taking on a 2nd marathon sometime next year, along with a couple of half's. I haven't decided on the races yet, but I should have a final list soon.

There is a quote I saw somewhere on the Internets that will be my mantra from this day forward:

"There will be a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day."

I like that.