Marathon Mom and Dad

Our six-year-old told us that it was okay to have an ice cream last night since we were done with the marathon. Tom and I both ran the Vermont City Marathon on Sunday and we'd been limiting sweets and other processed foods to stay light on our feet for the 26.2 miles.

We had a great marathon day. The daunting forecast of 80-something degrees didn't prevail. Instead we had an overcast sky with temps in the 60s and a cross-breeze from Lake Champlain -- perfect. I was lucky to have a good friend to run with and the miles actually flew by (with the help of some bands along the way) until mile 20. Yup, I tightened up some and the 8-minute pace, or thereabouts, slowed to 8:50, but I didn't crash and still made it to the finish under 3:40 (Boston qualifying time for me) with a 3:37. Tom blazed through earlier at 2:53 making him the 5th finisher in Vermont. That's why when people ask if we train together, I laugh.

Even though, Tom and I have very different speeds, our training has been pretty much the same. We had a lot to talk about after the marathon: How were your allergies? Did you see all that white stuff on Pine Street? Do you think anyone high-fived the eagle (radio mascot) on the Beltway? That last mile was brutal.

Part of us felt a little sad that our kids didn't see us cross the finish line, but with the way we were walking afterward I figure we had little chance of keeping up with our kids, especially our four-year-old who still likes to take off at times.

We've already got a tinge of interest in running next year, but for now we're letting the mileage log have an empty page and we're enjoying an occasional ice cream.