Adventures in London: Issues 40

This has been quite the week. On one hand it started with a  dear friend from NYC visiting and ended with a best friend from Scotland (they are not Scottish, but they are living there now) :-) On the other hand it started with cheering the Boston marathon and ended with cheering the London marathon. 

Either way golly good week if you ask me.

So...from the top shall we?! 

Monday (aka Patriot's Day) was the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. Thanks to universal sports online, I was able to follow one of the most engrossing marathons from start to finish. I cheered (quietly at my desk and over email with my friend TK who was on watching live in Boston) as Kara Goucher gave her best to be the first American to win the Boston marathon in over 20 years. For her second marathon she ran a brilliant and inspiring race; I am sure there must have been points of the race when she believed that the hope and dream of winning Boston could have been possible. I sat anxiously and nervously as I watched Kara, Dire and Salina battle it out on the streets of Boston. It was a struggle not to scream out loud at my desk, but I managed. I did not manage to hold back the tears when Dire Tune collapsed after finishing 1 second behind the lead and when Kara crossed the finish line with a look of achievement /devastation/pain (couldn't quite tell to be honest) . 

Ryan Hall on the men's side ran a completely different race - leading for a good majority of the race. This is not a running blog, so I will not bore you with the details. I will say, the Boston marathon was a great day for Americans who finished third in both races. 

Watching the Boston marathon made me reminisce about the 4 years that I spent in Boston cheering the race live as they ran along Beacon street, Kenmore Square and Copley Square.  I would not have thought 11 years ago when I started watching the marathon that I would one day be running one. Believe me when I say, I cannot wait to run NYC later this year. A friend asked me what is was about the marathon that I enjoyed so much (afterall it is not the most popular sport to follow). I could not come up with an answer, but later that night I read it...

"It is the challenge of running a 26-mile race that I find intriguing. It is like life itself. There are good moments and tough moments; you've got to enjoy the good parts and survive the bad ones. Along the way, you learn about yourself and how you respond to pressure and difficulty. You can't know for certain how you will be until you are faced with the question... in the difficult times you fight the feelings, try to calm and distract your body, while never letting the mental focus slip" 

- P.Radcliffe

Somewhere in-between visits from friends, marathon watching and training - I took some time out to celebrate the 114th day of the year. Also known as the day the Greeks invaded Troy on the Trojan horse, Winston Churchill getting knighted, and the birthdays for Shirley MacClaine, Barbara Streissand, Kelly Clarkson and yours truly ;-) We celebrated in London with a small gathering at the Gordon's/Corner Store with fine wine, delicious cheese and great friends xx 

Thank you for all your birthday wishes!! I will properly respond to your emails, messages, telegrams this week. 

The next day I had the delightful pleasure to spend the day with a best friend of mine from Boston University. She and her husband were in town from London and we met up so they could pass on some knowledge regarding the last years of your twenties. 

What was just supposed to a lunch in Borough market turned into a LOVELY day of tasting new things in Borough market, walking around in the great sunny weather, answering life's big questions of "would you rather eat a spoonful of mustard or a spoonful of salt & pepper" and other life puzzling questions. 

It was such a GOLLY GOOD day exploring new parts of London and catching up with good friends that know you through various life stages. I remember a time when you would say, "oh I know so and so for 3 years" and that seemed like a lifetime.  

And now, I just wrote a note to someone saying that we saw a concert together 19 years ago...OYE!!! 

Over 35,000 runners took the streets to run the 2009 London marathon. Course records were broken, titles were defended and London came alive with enthusiasm, spirit and greatness. If this is any inclination of the 2012 games....I can tell you this - London is going to throw a party that the world will not forget.  For 4 years I watched the Boston marathon and I spent another 4 years watching the NYC marathon. I am truly excited for the next 4 years here.

I went over to Tower Bridge to watch the half-way point and mile 22 of the race. To say that I was excited to see/photograph my first London marathon is an understatement. My body woke up at 0630 and could not wait to get out of bed to cheer the dedication,  perseverance,  and  commitment embodied by not only the elite runners,  but especially by the "mass heard" of runners who balance full time jobs, meetings, social engagements, along with training. I was taken back by how diverse the crowd of runners were (you had the serious runners mixed in with the runners in fancy dress at all the pace groups, even the sub-7 min mile ones) and how the spirit of the race and spectators differed from that of Boston and NYC.  

Today was deemed "The Rematch" between the top 3 runners from the Beijing Olympics - Dite, Ndereba, and Chunxiu. Also within the pack would be Irina Mikitenko the 2008 winner and the WMM Champion, Gete Wami (former WMM Champion) and Mara Yamauchi (GB hopeful who finisehd sixth at the Olympics missing a medal by only 22 seconds). 

Due to the time of the day, I was sadly unable to follow the race with TK. It would have been helpful to know how the race was going and where the runners were. Tomorrow I will catch up with the race as it was definitely another energized and truly impressive race to watch (TK, I will be sure to write you with my thoughts on the race so we can compare thoughts).

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

With Paula Radcliffe out of the race due to a foot injury, it was anyone's race. Irina Mikitenko, defended her title of FLM winner finishing in 2:21:11. She ran a great race breaking away somewhere between files 13 and 22 (sorry without seeing the race I don't know the exact details). The story of the race was Mara Yamauchi who finished second breaking her personal record by 2 minutes. 

On the men's side, Lel was not there to defend his title and course record (withdrawing on Saturday due to a hip-injury). Both were taken from him by the 22 year old Olympic Champion Sammy Wanjiru who ran the race in 2:05:10. He was followed by Kebede (Paris marathon winner) and Gharib (Beijing sliver medalist) who all ran sub-2hr06min marathons. 

Well I am certain that I have bored you with the recaps on the marathon. TK, that was for you. Sorry I could not cheer you on the streets of London. I hope the hamstrings feels better soon. Best of luck training for Baltimore (that was my first half in 2003). 

Miss you all and love you tons

xx

T