Run Comments:
I mosey my way as close to the front as I can. I start hearing the magical string of 6 words I would hear constantly throughout the day... I just wanna qualify for Boston....that is all that would come out of people's mouthes. When I started hearing that I figured I was close enough. I stood there shyly with my BAHAMMAS t shirt on while all the sub 3 hour superstars leered at me like I was a 25 minute 5ker that goes to the front of the pack. I leer back. We have to wait through, what I thought, was the most terrible rendition of the National Anthem I have ever heard. Ever. I don't even hear the gun go off.

I start running simply because everyone else is running. OK. Here we go. All the superstars are slow and I run around them. I take off my BAHAMMAS t shirt and throw it on the side walk. Sue me for littering... why dontcha? I am running well. I feel super. I turn to this woman who is breathing like she can't get enough. I say to her, calm and breathing easily, this is a marathon? This is easy! She looks at me, nonplussed. I laugh a little and run to the next group of people.

We are on our way out of Hartford. It is a breathtakingly spectacular autumn morning in New England and a perfect day for running. I am chatting with this one guy who asks if I know how fast we are running. I tell him we are running 6:40 pace exactly. He looks at me quizzically. I laugh a little. Just wait, I tell him. The two mile marker comes up. 13:20. I laugh again and he goes WOW, that's impressive. All I do is run, so it's not that impressive.

The mile 4 marker is coming up and at this point I realize I have been running with 1/2 marathoners for 27 minutes because they all veer off my course like a pack of gazelles evading a predator. I am suddenly alone. There is a pack in front of me. There is a pack in back of me. I settle into happy running. I am high five-ing little kids on the side of the road. I am stoking the crowd. I am loving every second.

Around mile 7 I have to pee. Damn my teenage girl bladder! I put the turn signal on and pull over. I pee in the woods. A girl goes by and says NOT FAIR. I laugh trying to force pee pee out as fast as I can. I put my man away just before I am done and get a little pee on my self.. whatever. It's the same as sweat and sweat is pretty much dripping off every part of my body so who cares? Ok, well I don't.

Around mile 8 I realize I must be coming upon Pamela's house soon!!! I get excited. I pass the relay hand off station and cheer for them. I hi-five like it's my job. Out of nowhere all my BT friends are there! They cheer for me and I accept their cheers in stride. I hit the 10 mile mat and praise the timing chip gods. All hail, timing chip Gods. I hit the turn around barrel and I let my hands skim the edge of it as I go around.

At this point I still feel really good. I feel even better for two reasons. 1, It is an out and back so all the people who are slower than me are on the other side of the road and they are all REALLY supportive. 2, I asked like 6 hot runner girls I saw to marry me and they all said yes! Look at me go.

I am coming upon Pamela's house again. I can see them coming this time so I jubilantly jump in the air and strike my heels together. The guy running next to me goes... damn, you are crazy. I look at him and tell him... you don't know the half of it. I am at about mile 14 now. My legs stat to feel tired and I prepare myself for the real part of the marathon.

Miles 15-19 are uneventful. I run by some fat lazy cops who sip on coolatas. Kids ride their bikes next to me. The gu on demand guy gives me gu and I love him for it. I Gu, I drink, I run. Mile 20.

I see the mile 20 marker and prepare myself for pain. I run by people who cheer for me and I tell them "I paid 90 dollars to do this to myself!" they laugh and I keep running. Another group of people, I run by singing "momma told me there would be days like this, there would be days like this my momma said". People Laugh, I keep running.

I keep running is really all I wanted to do. Alot of people who were way ahead of me are walking now. I pass ALOT of people. I give them encouragement as best I can as I RUN BY THEM! his one chinese guy is in serious pain but still running. i come up next to him and slow up for a second and tell him... "You know some girl at mile 16 told me I was almost there and I knocked her ass out!". He laughed and I smiled and kept running.

The last 6 miles were terribly painful. There were hills and I was dead. I came to the top of this one overpass and I swear my brain was on the ground. My blood pressure must have dropped significantly and I think I came very close to passing out. Here comes the 25 mile mark. I look at my watch. 6:38. How the fuck did I just run a 6:38 minute mile. I laugh which sounds like a death gurgle. I keep running.

I am back in Hartford and it is coming to a close. People line the street and cheer but I don't hear them. I concentrate solely on keeping on running. I see the arches. It is almost over. My good friend Johnny O is there and he runs with me like I am lance in an unrated part of the tour de france. I come around the corner and I can see the finish line. I hear nothing. I run the same as I have for the last 26.1 miles... no faster, no slower. I cross the line. I am done.