So I'm a few days late on this.  Mayyyybe it's taken me this long to recover.

The day before the run, I skipped out of work early.  I'd planned on stopping by the Civic Center and doing my civil duty and voting - but, the line wrapped around itself.  I'll vote tomorrow, like every other lazy but inclined American.

I vegged on the couch for a while.  Napped.  Got up at about four and rode the pony.  I can't remember much about that ride.  I think it was a distance ride and I think he was excellent, as normal.

Dinner that night was wheat pizza.  I shit you not: by this point I did not want to eat anything, much less something carby.  Ate the pizza, ate some froyo.  Watched the rest of that stupid movie and shoved down a sweet potato.  In to bed early, where I couldn't sleep and resorted to taking a quarter of a dosage of an OTC sleep aid.

Got up at five thirty, got dressed in layers and walked the dogs.  Wrapped a toasted wheat bagel with pumpkin spice cream cheese in some tin foil and grabbed a diet coke.  Off to downtown we went.

I expected a lot of traffic but the roads were deserted.  It was dark and exits were blocked and it was all sort of ominous.

We got to the parking deck for which we'd pre-paid and just hung out in the car for a little while.  I'd already taken half a Xanax, so I took 800 mg of Ibuprofen and ate my bagel with my diet coke.  Then it was a matter of attaching the tracker to my shoe and the bib to my tank top.  We still had about fifteen minutes before I thought we needed to go up, so I read a little.

When we got up to the road, it was utter chaos.  People everywhere.  I held on to the back of D's shirt and let him pull me through the crowds.  I knew I was going to need to go to the bathroom, so I thought we should start towards the line for the port-a-potties.  To get there, we had to walk by City Hall.  Lo and behold, a familiar security guard was watching the masses from inside.  She let us in and I was able to spend the last fifteen minutes or so in relative comfort.  D had never been in City Hall, so I showed him around a little bit.  No port-a-potties for this woman!

And then it was time to get in line.  I was in one of the last corrals, because of my estimated pace, so we had to go all the way towards the end.  I started half an hour after the first corral.  By that time, I'd stripped off my outermost layer and alienated everyone around me with scowls.  What can I say?  I'm a people-person.

As far as the race itself goes, most of it was a blur.  It was foot after foot after foot.  I average, on a good pace day, about 175 strides per minute.  I'd put the Foals on shuffle and just kept trucking.  Looking around only when I needed to pass people, otherwise setting my sights on the distance.  Unexpected hills.  Route took us through less-than-stellar areas.  Chunking my middle layer off at the first hill.  Thankful for sun glasses.  Picking a person and trying to catch them.  Slowing to a walk and drinking at every water station.  Gatorade when it was available.  Gu at mile eight.

At mile eleven, I started having foot pain in my left foot.

Then knee pain in my left knee.

Then pain in my left hip flexor.

At mile twelve, I was desperate.

When I saw the finish line, adrenalin took over.  I yelled for the people around me to push.  I'm not a cheerleader.  I generally don't give a shit about the other competitors.  One lady was motivated and we raced to the finish.

It took me two hours and thirty-five minutes to finish.  All my special information is here.

Afterwards, I had to immediately sit down.  By the time I got up, D had found me.  I slowly drank water and chocolate milk and a Gatorade.  There was a band playing in the park, who D was interested in listening to.  I stayed semi-passed out.  As soon as we were able, I wanted to get back to the car.  I ached in places they don't tell you about.

I spent the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday hobbling.  Inflammation of my hip flexor and my plantar fascia.  Concerns about the ligaments in my knee.  D did some sort of "Lockman's maneuver" to determine that they were strained or something.  I've been wearing my knee brace since then and feel much, much better.  Didn't play soccer last night, but went to watch.  Hopped on Archie for about ten minutes in the almost-pitch dark.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought I'd get more sun with the time change.  Instead, I'm getting less.  I've either got to change parking decks so I can get home sooner or I need to make myself ride before work.