I remember, and my parents remember all too well, there was an evening in my twenties, in winter, where I had gone on the train into Toronto. I think I ended up spending all my money at the bar, and this was before ATM’s, I had nothing to get home on, all the way. The best I could manage was the bus to the end of the line, which was Pickering (in Ontario), which left a long walk from the bus station home, at 1am, in winter. Google says it is four and half miles, but it was nothing you ever wanted to have to walk, even in summer.
In the end it was enjoyable, if somewhat frosty. I was underdressed certainly, and the wind was pretty strong. That might have been one of my first long distance sojourns. Not long after I began cycling seriously and remember a number of 80km excursions, and one attempt at cycling from Kingston ON, home to Ajax, about 235km. I made it about 120km in the dead of summer, and had to stop because I couldn’t breathe in the humidity. I was not really prepared for that kind of distance. My dad had to come and bail me out. On the return trip I had him drop me at the same point and I completed the distance back out of some need to cover that span. I would still like to do it some day.
Tomorrow I run my first marathon in Long Branch, New Jersey.
Thank you to all who have encouraged me along this path. You are on your own when you run but you are not alone.
In terms of results, they tell you to have three goals in mind. There is the shocked, amazed, couldn’t believe how fast it was time, the great time you had been planning on, and then the get’er done time where you didn’t at least blow up. So in terms of the great time, I think I can manage a 3:40 which for me would be a respectable time for a first marathon, including some hustle to get there. The course is flat so that is an advantage, and I have been training on lots of hills. Rain could alter the time either way, squishy toes might not like all the miles, but cooler means less work overall. Hard to say.
Anything under 3:40 and I will be flabbergasted. 3:45 is the get’er done territory. But there is beer at the end no matter what.
Don’t expect a race report Monday.
Good luck.