attempt one

okay,
early morning and i'm awash in emails asking where the
pix and marathon update is. apologies all. was in a van for
most of yesterday, driving back with the family
from vancouver.

i want you to try this and see if it works. it should. a handful
of photos from the trip.

so, vancouver: mm & i honeymooned
in vancouver 7 yrs prior so it was a strangely surreal experience
to be running past buildings we went in, parks we walked in 7 yrs ago.
Oh, to add to the irony we found ourselves staying - by sheer chance -
in the exact same hotel we had stayed in on our honeymoon.
given the nature of why i was running (ie brain tumor)
i couldn't help but to be a little reflective already but
to recognize things on the course that i had visited previously
but in a life from 100 yrs ago and to recognize
the decor in the hotel
restaurant where we ate on our honeymoon in a life
from 100 yrs ago was the height of strangeness. did
a number on me.

so, the race: i got down to the staging area about 45 minutes early. just kind
of stood around, keeping to myself. i was wearing a t-shirt
w/ "brain tumor survivor" written on it in marker. standing there
before the race started, surrounded by thousands of folks i felt
naked and exposed. it wore off when the horn sounded
and we started running.

i bumped my run/walk ratio down for my legs sake and it
hurt to take the walks b/c i didn't want to at first, felt
strong. mile by mile people around me started to flag and
i became grateful for adhering to the ratio. saw mm around mile
6. we planned to re-meet at mile 11 which happened to be
directly in front of our hotel.

at mile 11 saw mm and sue and mom/dad & carrie. it was threatening
rain so mm handed me a plastic rain poncho which i had
to put on a mere few minutes later and was quite grateful for as
the rain continued off and on until the very end

the 1/2way pt was deep inside Stanley Park. i was already exhausted
and my legs burned and my mind began to contemplate
not finishing, or walking the rest, or also not finishing.
these are little tricks the mind plays. so i played one back
and adjusted the run/walk ratio, bumping it down further, telling
myelf you just have to run for X minutes, now go. By the time
i looked up i was seeing my family again and only had 9 more miles to go

you lock into a zone when you run a marathon. about mile 18
i locked in and - despite the pain, which was growing w/ each successive mile,
and the fatigue, both physical and mental - i knew i would finish. let me qualify: i knew i would finish anyway but i reached a certain point
where the worry floated away, the concern for each wince or ache vanished. i locked in
and just enjoyed myself

crossing the finish line was fantastic. met up w/ the family, got my tshirt.
went back to the hotel and had a bath
and ate a cheeseburger and had a beer. epic.

that's the best i can do for now
in the next couple days should have more official marathon
photos
and hopefully some video
keep yr eyes peeled
best
bp

update:
here's some official marathon pix