I'm a big fan of bananas. I love them in a bowl of Rice Krispies, or just plain and peeled. Oh, and combined with strawberries, what a delight. I heard a while back that bananas are going extinct. So, we've gotta enjoy them while we can. And a marathon course is just the place for that.
Japanese newspapers would later report this impressive race statistic: 60,000 bananas prepared for all of the marathon runners. I'd have to say at least four of those were mine. I'd been grabbing banana slices from the sidelines ever since around 21km, the halfway point. These bananas would be my front-line in combatting the infamous glycogen wall, the place where too often dreams of marathon PRs (or completions) are crushed and defeated.
After passing the 32km marker, I felt great. Here, I started to snag little bite-size chocolates from the cheering crowd. I had a feeling these little yummy sugar treats would really help in the last little bit coming up. And man, did they ever.
Passing 34km, I kept my pace going strong. I wish I could say that for some of my fellow runners on the course. It was around here where people started slowing down, stretching, and dropping like flies! I was passing so many people, I felt like my pace was increasing with each mile. This continued as I ran along, though I became a bit wary of this high. I was sure the Wall was going to come around any minute and hit me in the face. But I just kept going, listening to my body for any warning signs...
35km, nothing. I see a man stretching on the side of the road. My legs are feeling too good to stop. I'm afraid of interrupting my pace to stretch if I really don't need it. I make my way left, to the water station for a cup or two, and almost crash into another runner who had stopped mid-stride to drink his fluids.
36 km, nothing. Up ahead, I watch a man crumple to the ground. Strangers in the crowd rush in to assist him. His race is over. Further up the road, I pass a runner who is limping. He wears a grimace of determination as he holds his right thigh in pain. But he keeps moving forward.
I was at 37km when I realized I had just over a 5k to go. "Five kilometers, that's my shortest training run. 3.1 Miles, that really is nothing! That's just a quick loop around the rice fields back home. I've bypassed the Wall of Doom, I've got this in the bag, I'm actually going to finish!" I looked down at my watch. 3:31:15. "Yes, oh yes, oh yes."
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