THE SEATTLE (half) MARATHON, MAN



My two old friends Triumph and Disaster both visited me yesterday when I ran my very first footrace. I enjoyed my first ever half marathon on a beautiful, soggy Seattle November morning. I finished the course (in 690th place) within about 2 minutes of my overall goal time and my body didn't suffer in the manner that I feared and I remain upright today with very little pain so I am very happy.

My biggest Disaster: missing my overall goal time by 2 minutes, and finding that I had no "kick" left for the last mile and a half. The last mile and a half is mostly downhill and I ran my SLOWEST during that part of the course. I had spent too much energy climbing up from Lake Washington to The Arboretum along Madison Street and then Interlaken. I felt strong climbing the hills, much like I feel when hiking a snowfield to the top of a mountain, but when I got to the top I found I had nothing left for the sprint to the finish.

My biggest Triumph: finishing the course on two legs, with no pain, and having maintained a very consistent pace pattern for 13.1 miles. My average pace was 8:12 and my overall time was 1:47:23. I was successful in holding back during the first 2 or 3 miles when rookie runners are often tempted to speed up with the crowd surge, and are then left hurting later in the race. My splits were like this:

1 - 8:12
2 - 8:09
3 - 8:07
4 - 7:44
5 - 7:39
6 - 8:43
7 - 8:21
8 - 8:20
9 - 7:52
10 - 7:52
11 - 8:09
12 - 8:22
13 - 8:40
.1 - :40

I was trying to maintain exactly an 8 minute mile, but as you can see I had some variation. My final training run last Saturday went so well (I averaged a 7:46 pace for 11 miles) that I expected to be able to maintain 8 minutes yesterday, but it didn't work out that way for me. At least now I know where I need to improve and I am excited to start getting ready for another *half* marathon in January, and then I'd like to start training seriously for a FULL marathon. Stay tuned.


My favorite moment in yesterday's race: at mile 9, about two-thirds of the way up Interlaken, there was a little girl sitting with a battery operated boombox on the ground. Blasting from her boombox was Vangelis' Chariots of Fire music. The grin which involuntarily took control of my face then spread to the rest of my body and I felt energized and motivated for the final push to the top.

Little girl: whoever you are and wherever you are -- thank you.

Triumph and Disaster

The last year or two of my life have provided me with some opportunities to reflect on my own personal triumphs and disasters. In the midst of my self-absorption I stumbled across an old article about Pete Sampras (one of the greatest tennis players of all time). The article mentions that portions of a Rudyard Kipling poem are inscribed above Wimbledon's Centre Court:


If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same.
...
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch.
...
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!


Many people find this poem inspirational in a multitude of contexts. Personally, it takes me awhile to overcome my visceral dislike of the rigid, rhyming couplets and the trance-like state they induce (poetic METER is so much more effective than RHYME) but when I finally overcome my aquired literary snobbery I, too, find inspiration in the thought that Triumph and Disaster are both the same thing -- inconsequential and disingenuous.

Pete Sampras never displayed a lot of emotion on the court. Even after winning a Grand Slam event he'd smile shyly and accept his trophy. On the rare occasion that he double-faulted a serve or failed to win a match, he'd greet these failures with the same magnanimity and grace. I admire that. A man who is unflappable in the midst of success AND failure is truly mysterious. Is he just really good at hiding his emotions or, as the verse suggests, has he simply avoided the error of attributing too much importance to a victory or too great a despair to a loss?

It is a personal goal of mine to achieve such equanimity. I have not always been successful in suppressing the outward display of emotions nor, more importantly, have I always achieved the peace of mind that comes with resignation. I believe the former (suppression) is unhealthy and impractical. The latter, however, is my goal. I want to resign myself both to failure and success.

Next weekend I will have a chance to test my new outlook. I am going to run 13.1 miles in the Seattle HALF Marathon on Sunday morning. Running is a new sport for me and this will be my first race. I won't be setting any records or winning any Nike endorsement deals but I do have my own personal goals in mind and I will experience my own sort of triumph or disaster. Regardless of which imposter I meet, I promise to try to behave the same.