It's a race you've lost, not a relative. Nobody's dead.
--Sybil Gordon (in Chariots of Fire, after Abrahams loses to Liddle and sulks about it)
Official results aren't yet in on the California International Marathon site, but according to the Garmin the bad news is:
4:06:38.
I'll have a doozy of a race report for you soon. It features a start line that looked like a refugee camp (if refugees wear trash bags), 26 miles of headwind (I think we had .2 or so where it was more like a sidewind), my first-ever mid-marathon port-a-john stop at Mile 17, 3 1/2 hours of jungle-like rain (nice sun after that, though) and the first race where I had absolutely no desire to hang out at the finish line.
The best parts of the experience were the post-race shower and hanging out with Tricia (now a marathon finisher!!).
I'll close by saying....I'm sorry the BQ by 40 story's last marathon was this one. A lot of you were rooting for me, I know, and I feel like I've let you down. Honestly, I gave it all I had. I can see it's an excellent course on a good day. But today wasn't a good day. Some days, Mom says, are like that.
