I just composed a farewell e-mail to say goodbye to those who I could personally say goodbye to before leaving. After I added everyone to the “to” field I realized that there were 60 names in this list and I thought it unfair for me to not write something here about my leaving. 60 people who have personally affected my life in the past year. 60 people that I can put more than just a face to–people whom I have relate experiences and emotions to. Surely you must understand how it can be hard to leave.

Last night I shipped my personal affects to Canada which turned out to be a long, time-consuming process. After spending well over an hour at the UPS warehouse I was received at the Mihut household where we ate a delicious beer can chicken, with potatoes and a salad, and then watched a couple of recently-aired TV shows. It was really relaxing, but sad for me at the same time. I definitely had the thoughts that I did not want to leave.

***

I started writing this post hours ago, but could not finish with the trip to the Asian restaurant, checking-in for the flight, saying goodbye, going for a final run, etc. Unfortunately now I don’t have time to reflect further, as I have to go and get ready for dinner, plus pack this evening. But let it be known that the people here are awesome and I will miss them dearly.

Update: Feel free to track me on flight AC839 tomorrow. No stalkers please. Thanks.

I am pleased to report that the run went better than I expected. I started by pacing myself a little bit behind the 4:30 pacesetter but it turned out that this was really slow. Within the first 17 km or so I had caught up to and passed the 4:00 pacesetter. This was nearer to my comfortable pace.

At about 21 km it started to rain hard. There had been some coolness and light rain before, which was fine, but at this part of the race it was raining hard enough that my shoes started “squishing”. The next five kilometres were rather unpleasant because of that.

I remember seeing the 28 km sign and thinking “this is further than I have ever run in my entire life”. That was neat. Some months ago, before the Alpencross, I ran about 27 km (maybe a bit more) and had extreme difficulty beginning at the 23 or 24 km mark. This was part of the reason I was discouraged leading into the marathon. At 28 km I still felt quite fine.

In the early 30s I was beginning to feel the difficulty of running the marathon. I can remember taking note of the km markers a little bit more at this time. But I still continued on, likely at a slower pace, until my ultimate challenge of the day: kilometre 39.

At kilometre 39 I felt like I was going to pass out. It was an overwhelming feeling that had me start walking in order to save myself. I remember thinking that I could probably walk the rest of the way and still finish in under 5 hours; thankfully that wasn’t necessary. I did walk to the next supply station, where I had some cola, banana pieces, a fruit bar, and some water. This seemed to help me recover so that I could run for the remainder of the race.

I finished the marathon in 4:04:46. This was better than the 5 hour time I anticipated, so I was quite pleased. I fuelled up with an isotonic beverage, some GORP, and some apple slices. I wasn’t actually that hungry at the end of the race, nor was I that cold, nor was I feeling dehydrated. In all, I felt pretty good, though my legs were a bit stiff.

I had an amazing support team help me with my things, finding my way around, interacting with race staff, etc. It made things really easy for me–all I had to do was run–and was greatly appreciated. After the race we sat on a rooftop patio and had an excellent meal, with beautiful weather, and a perfect view of the Ulmer Münster. I repeated many times that this was really great, and I really meant it.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like after running a marathon? Well, you have probably lifted weights at least once in your life. When you lift weights you often do so to the point where you cannot lift anymore–your spotter will give you the small help you need to finish the final rep. This final rep feeling is exactly what I had for the first 48 hours after finishing. To sit down I needed to use my arms for help. To stand up, I needed to use my arms for help. I held onto the banister when going up or down stairs. I loathed anything that was placed on the floor that I had to pick up.

Particularly interesting was getting out of bed the day after the marathon. After laying for hours my legs were not used to bearing the weight of my body, and around my bed I have no handles I could grab to help me up. I had to go with an “interesting angular” approach, as my legs were incapable of being bent and bear weight. It was actually kind of hilarious and fun.

Now, at Thursday, I would say I am fully recovered, though even yesterday I was feeling well good enough to run. (Time prevented me from doing so.) The sun is out and shining and the forecast looks good for this weekend. I feel great.

I did a bike tour of Berlin yesterday and it was excellent. Fat Tire Bike Tours, also setup in London, Paris, and Barcelona. A bike tour is a great way to “do” a city in a half-day. I really like them because you get your own personal guide, and riding together helps to form a personal bond between everyone. The bike tour is now my go-to thing (I have done them in Munich, Prague, Madrid, and Berlin).

That and Starbucks. It is critical to locate the nearest Starbucks locations when visiting a new city. And notice that I say locations, plural. This morning I tried to go to my nearest location only to find it closed; luckily I had in mind the next closest location and have made my way here.

I will be visiting the Berlin International Church this morning. It feels really great to be attending a worship service two weeks in a row! I cannot wait for returning to service regularly. Sadly, this will be the last service I will attend whilst living in Europe. I have been blessed enough to attend services in London, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich, Prague, and now Berlin–and in some places more than once!

Last evening I ran, even after a day of lots of walking and some cycling. I only ran about 15 km and it was quite slow. I can feel it only a little bit today but it certainly heightens my concern about the marathon. I will still participate and expect to take between 4 and 5 hours to finish. I would be very surprised if I finished on the better half of 4.5 hours; to finish at all will be a real achivement.

So this week will be all about eating reasonably, taking a couple of short-ish runs, and otherwise prparing for the run. I hope to get a couple of gels to have on me for the run, which I will have to get, but I also must prepare a playlist. I think I will try to combine buying gels with having dinner in Karlsruhe.

One final point: the nearby Nike Town is advertising a hoodie–the AW77–as the world’s best hoodie. It was all I could do to avoid going in (I would have, obviously, bought one) so my curiosity is still unsatisfied. What makes it the world’s best? Can Nike really make such a claim?

That’s all that’s on my mind this morning.