Marathon Nostalgia

Is it even possible to get maudlin about 'not' running a marathon?  I mean really.  It is okay to lament your lost youth or the years ticking by, the tiny daily reminders that age and gravity are relentlessly taking their toll and slowing you down.  (Not quite so) suddenly not being able to jump over a puddle, dash across the street, bounce up from a prone position. Remembering where you were when JFK was shot but unable to find your car in the parking lot. That is something to feel sad about.  Most of us boomers secretly yearn for the years when footwear did not have to be supportive, all clothing seemed to fit beautifully, and you never gave your skin,  your hairline or your cholesterol count a second thought.  Few of us fret about not having slogged out a footrace of 26.2 miles.

Last Sunday while taking some photographs at the Chevron Houston Marathon,  I must confess to having had a flashback or two to the last time I ran this marathon in 2007. Which also happened to be the second last marathon I ever ran, prior to Boston in April 2009.  Well I must confess now that a new age group category is around the corner I'm having second thoughts about hanging up the marathon shoes altogether.  Perhaps there is one good marathon left in these aging legs, one last hurrah before I finally replace the racing flats with walking shoes.  It looks like a bunch of Houston Striders - and likely some Katy Fit members as well - will be revisiting the Mohawk-Hudson Marathon in Albany in Oct. 2012. Something to think about.

Here are a few pics I took last Sunday - don't let anyone tell you that marathoners are a dour, unsmiling bunch...