As for the difficulty level, the truth is that it was not that much different than what I do every day. I'm sure there are some mothers out there who would be nodding.
The atmosphere in a marathon is bustling and contagious. It can carry you through the race. People were handing out skittles and gummy bears - beers around mile 10! One street had Jamaican music jamming and the streets were lined with kids, grown-ups, some armed with pots and pans belting out a homemade rhythm to run to. Thousands of people came out to cheer us on--and the weather was ideal. Sunny and cool. The hills, now the hills were another story. Apparently, the Baltimore Marathon is only 10 years old. The reason being, no one wanted to host a marathon in this hill-acious town. Whew!
I did learn a few lessons during my month-long training session, and during the race:
1. Don't stop. If you stop, you may not start again.
2. If you did not train with it, don't race with it. My warm top layer that had to go during Mile One of the race - the top layer with all my safety pins embedded into it and my race number - was not my most ingenious wardrobe choice to date. Unpinning and re-pinning while running could constitute a new sports event in its own right.
3. Just drop the red skittle! In my entire life, I do not think I have turned down a red skittle. However, if I could have referenced this check list (#2), maybe I would have thought twice. I think it may have taken five miles, but I did eventually get it down without embarrassing myself by spitting it out onto someone else or drooling on myself.
And, here are a few shots of the race - the first pic is of our very wonderful neighbors, John and Ellen and their buddy who I ran the race with:
