Are you friggin’ serious? I got a one-second PR? So while I’m elated to claim three straight years of my marathon PR at this race, I’m still a bit disappointed. The hip did not want my greatness today. Mile nineteen was the beginning of the end. I was set to get a nice PR, but I honestly wasn’t surprised that I’d have an issue. Even at mile twenty, I had to stop and do hamstring stretches for ten minutes. I was still ahead of the game. But, the run kept deteriorating into walk breaks. Ahh well, there are more marathons and more opportunities to crack the ceiling. I will add, that with a severely modified and self-managed training plan (injury wouldn’t allow for anything extreme), worked more efficiently than I expected. I can sincerely sing with Frank and exclaim, “I did it my way!”
The race: after the last two years of weather ranging from one end of the thermometer to the other, today was a great day for running in Detroit. Being a race ambassador did put the icing on the cake. With sixteen waves to release, all seemed to have occurred seamlessly. The crowd was pumped during the organized chaos, as I call it. The waves released in five-minute increments. The 25,000+ marathoners and half marathoners ran together until their planned separations. Also, there are two half marathons that run pretty close to simultaneous starts. The bridge to Canada is a nice climb into the atmosphere. Lots of runners taking pictures up there. Today was a beautiful morning to take pictures of Detroit, Windsor, Ontario and the Detroit River. The Canadians are as full of cheer as the Americans. Then, back to the US under the tunnel, deep below the Detroit River. Both the bridge and tunnel are a mile in distance. Did you know that this is the only underwater mile race in the world? To wrap up, the medals are always amazing and the support is top notch. I am endorsing this race, not just because it’s my hometown, but because it’s truly worth the experience. NYC! I’ll see you in two weeks for my next dance on the pavement. See you in the ‘D’ next year!
🏅Wils World 