This weekend Eric ran his Third Marathon! He ran the Air Force Marathon back in September in 4 hours and 30 seconds, then three weeks ago, he ran the Indianapolis Marathon at Fort Ben. He ran that in 4 hours and 2 minutes.
This week it was The Monumental Marathon in Downtown Indianapolis. It was a beautiful day for a Run!
He was off to a great start! He started out slower than last time, he wanted to be under 4 hours, but thought if he started slower than last time, that he'd keep the stamina throughout.
He had lots of energy, he was happy to see us on Monument Circle ready to cheer him on! For the first few miles he was with the 3:40 pace crew.
But about 15 miles in, he was starting to feel the effects. He wasn't happy with the way the water and gatorades had been distributed. The other marathons had water and gatorade at EVERY stop. Air Force had them at like every mile or two. This one only had gatorade at a few stops, and he had passed the first few by. By the time he needed them, they were gone. He'd also not noticed that the brand of power gel they were handing out was caffeine based until his 4th bar. And if you know Eric, caffeine at Any Time is iffy, he's so sensitive to it, let alone while he's busy running a marathon. But just so you know, he didn't have much trouble falling asleep Saturday night. He was happy to see us show up again to cheer him on at Butler. We were based at 46th street, and were screaming and yelling for him!
Once he saw us at Butler, he paused to give High 5s to Chris, and even to Sam too! Though Sam had finally fallen asleep he got a pat on the hat. Eric was still going pretty well, but he'd been left behind by the 3:40 and 3:50 pace crews. He was starting to slow down.
His slow down continued. And since he was not eating/drinking right, he was having a whole lot more cramps than the last two marathons. So, he crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 32 minutes!
We were immensely proud of him. Chris couldn't wait to give his Daddy a big hug after his big "Run Run". Eric was dissapointed, he's been chasing that "elusive 4 hour mark", and really wanted to be under 4. He has been keeping up with his training, for the most part, but it's really hard when most days he's only getting 4 hours of sleep. Work has been keeping him up late for the last months, he hasn't been getting enough sleep. But the days on this icky project are numbered! And there are more marathons to chase.
Eric sporting his newest Monuemental Marathon Medal! He figures, he'll keep running this race, because he wants to be one of Those Guys. He ran their inaugural half marathon last year, and he's going to keep going with them for I don't know, 25 more years or so. Meanwhile, we were talking, Last year he ran 3 Half Marathons. This year he ran 3 Full Marathons. So next year....3 of Each!
