Wingman

Yesterday, I ran my second marathon, and it was an entirely different experience from the first. I went as companion, pacer, wingman, whatever you want to call it, to my good friend Peter, who was running his first.

Peter's goal was the official goal of all first time marathoners -- to finish the race. Of course, as with most first timers, he also had a "secret" time goal. In his case, it was to finish under 4 hours. 

Since my first and only marathon was barely under 4 hours, I was hardly qualified to be a pacer, but I planned to stick with him and offer what support I could.

At the start, we met up with our mutual friend TH. The three of us actually stuck together for the first 18 miles, which was quite a feat in the crowded marathon field. It was truly a blast. The first 18 of the NYC Marathon is a giant party, and it was great to share it with my friends. 

Heading up the Queensboro Bridge at mile 15, I saw a runner with a pair of odd looking sandal-like things stuck in his belt. I recognized the footwear, and I when I caught up to him, I recognized the runner. We had run together in the Flyers "Bridges and Arches" run in Central Park earlier this year. During that run he had actually been wearing the unusual footwear, which he explained were Vibram FiveFingers. They were VERY thin, and I was amazed at how tough he was to run in them. At the marathon, however, they were tucked in his belt -- so what was he wearing? NOTHING. That's right, he ran the NYC Marathon barefoot. I seriously can not even imagine. Did he finish? Yes he did. Absolutely stunning.

Last year, I finished in an OK time, but I felt really beaten up (even though I wasn't barefoot). It took quite a while to feel fully recovered. This time, I was able to finish feeling strong, which is a huge win for me. 

So how did we do? Peter and I finished side by side in 3:58:54. This morning Peter called to talk about training for the next marathon.