Sarah’s Seventh Marathon

Sarah ran the Twin Cities Marathon yesterday for the 7th year straight. It was her worst time by far, but she had 2 good excuses - she had done Ironman Wisconsin just a few weeks before, and she had come down with pneumonia just after the Ironman and was still coughing badly.

The day started cool, but it was going to get too hot for most of the runners. This was the first year that I had no one to entertain; I was on my own cheering for Sarah. So I could run around and cheer her on where ever I felt. As soon as she started, I got back home, jumped on my bike, and bike to the course. On the way out, I had a little rumble in my belly. So I stopped at SA for a bite. (Note: this is the same SA that Anne and I are used to stopping at during Sarah’s Triathlons, so it holds a special place in my heart.) I had a great, greasy breakfast sandwich.

We exchanged “sexy eyes” for a minute before I devoured it

I found Sarah at mile 11. She was smiling, but starting to hurt a bit. I let her run around Nokomis and met her on the other side. From there, I was never more than a half mile from her at any point, cheering her on, helping with her inhaler, and giving her water. I rode along side her on the sidewalk where I could. Her coughing didn’t slow her down too much, but she did finish in quite a bit of pain.

Near mile 26 at the St. Paul Cathedral


Sarah and her sister Steph

When we got home, Sarah took an ice bath to help her sore muscles, and I iced my knee. The day before the marathon, I went on a nice, fast 4 mile run that aggravated my left knee a little. And then I biked 20 miles during the marathon. So it was best to get a little ice on it.

Then we went to bed early. Good day.