The good stuff

Last night I was still so focused on the fatigue and the pain--not to mention the huge load of self-doubt I carried for 26.2 miles--I completely forgot to mention the good stuff. Oh, the good stuff.

First of all, the citizens of Green Bay totally support their marathon. People on the route had music playing, some were out distributing fruit and water and hard candy, and all the volunteers were cheerful and smiling. Even the cops were friendly, and they spent a full shift stopping traffic for marathoners like me.

A church group erected an inflatable wall just past the 20-mile mark and dozens of them were there, cheering us on and dancing and stuff. Another church group handed out towels at another mile marker (I forgot which one). People were lined up on a bridge over the Fox river, cheering us on and giving us high fives.

Just before the 25-mile mark, three or four guys who were already wearing their "Finisher" medals were walking on the sidewalk and saw me. They all started clapping, yelling for me to keep it going and the 25-mile mark was just ahead.

Then there was Lambeau Field. I ran through the same tunnel where Bart Starr, Max McGee, Don Hutson, Ray Nietzsche, Jerry Kramer, Fuzzy Thurston, Paul Hornung, Reggie White, Brett Favre, and so many other legends have run. I ran on this little walkway around the outside of the playing field, and I sized up the wall where players do the Lambeau Leap. I thought about trying it, but I knew I didn't have the gas.

And then I saw my wife Linda in the stands, her arms in the air and screaming her head off for me. That was great.

The theme of the Green Bay marathon is "Touch the Tundra," referring to the Lambeau grass which is always called The Frozen Tundra. But they had the grass roped off. So I did what I could--I stuck my foot out and actually touched the tundra. Oh yeah!

Then, once I was back in the tunnel, I had to grab a wall and stretch my calves so I could make it to the finish line. And I did make it to the finish line. With the benefit of a night's sleep and a few doses of Advil, I can say that I'm glad I ran this marathon.