I Heart MCM

I almost forgot to tell you about this. Last month, I got a slim manila envelope in the mail from the Marine Corps Marathon. Inside was the medal at left (apologies for the blurriness), and a letter from MCM race director Rick Nealis.

The letter, in part, said: To complete a marathon is a feat of dedication and courage, but to distinguish yourself by earning a category award requires special recognition. I would like to extend my congratulations to you for your exemplary finish at "The People's Marathon."

The letter ended: Bravo Zulu, Rick Nealis.

Warm Fuzzies: Awwww. I raced the marathon as part of a four-person co-ed team for my local running club. All I had to do to get on the team was to sign up via e-mail. To tell you the truth, we didn't have a lot of esprit de corps. I never even met my other teammates. But we did well enough to place 3rd out of 10 teams.

Turn over the considerably heavy medal and etched on the back is: THIRD PLACE. ORGANIZATIONS TEAM. The MCM recorded the times of the first four finishers in each team. The first and second place teams had all men. Okay, the second-place team had one woman, but her time was slower than her teammates, so her time didn't count. So we were the first co-ed team, with two men and two women.

Take note: Wouldn't it be cool if next year we had an RBF team for the Marine Corps Marathon? Food for thought.

Pounding the pavement: I was too tired from travel to run 8 miles with my Saturday running group. Especially at 8 effin' 30 in the morning. But I did log 4 miles that evening on a hilly course with E. On Sunday afternoon, I ran 8.5 miles, also on a somewhat hilly course. Average per-mile pace was 8:48/mile.

Today was supposed to be a rest day. But I got antsy. So I logged another 6 miles. Average per-mile pace: 8:29/mile. My legs felt pretty tired, but visions of the homemade fudge, chocolate-covered doughnuts, cranberry cake, chocolate mousse, and other desserts that I ate over the past week kept me from slowing down.