This is Monday morning here in sunny Krakow. It rains here a lot but I am lucky to enjoy sunny days here during my visit. I ran the Krakow marathon yesterday (finisher's medal attached). 4 hours and 59 minutes. So glad it was under 5 hours (by a few seconds!). Ha! I didn't tell people that I was running this race. I prefer not to talk about my travels and races before they happen.
The weather was perfect for a marathon and none of my injuries bothered me during the race, unlike the Rome marathon last month where I endured some "memorable moments of discomfort" (the Rome race will go down in history as quite unforgettable!). The pain and discomfort I endured yesterday was the usual that we runners encounter while running a marathon - pain in ankles, knees and hips, as if they are dislocating and falling apart. Ha!! I know what you are thinking - CRAZY!! I was thinking the same while I was running - why do I do this to myself? Honestly, because it feels good AFTER it is over. A sense of accomplishment of covering 26.2 miles in another city of the world with runners from all corners of the world running next to you. The race route becomes a melting pot, but I have to admit that in this race, in the "general runners' category" of 3000-plus runners, I was the only person of color, however, the "elite runners' category was all color (Kenyans, Ethiopians,.....)!!!
Although running is an individual sport, on the race route we all come together as one, and often feed off the energy of the others around us. We see each other struggling at times and often, help and encourage the other to keep going, keep running, keep placing one foot in front of the other. I do it a lot on the course because, quite frankly, on some levels it helps me too. When I feel like giving up, encouraging someone else to keep going lends me bolt of energy. A single touch of a hand or even a smile from a fellow runner can transfer remarkable strength and the will to go on - it is quite amazing, really. It is also so heartening to have complete strangers cheer you in an unfamiliar language, beaming smiles, their words and body language conveying to keep going, "you can do it!", "bravo!"...... There are challenges of course, of running in an unfamiliar city the next day one lands there. I arrived on Saturday afternoon and immediately had to secure my race packet and also get something to eat, which in a land of meat and sausages, can be tough for a vegan. The day before running a marathon, we are required to "carbo load" and here I am munching steamed veggies, rice and creamed spinach at 6pm on Saturday! My first and only meal of Saturday! Ha! But it is all part of the fun. I found some great vegan places to dine here in Krakow and I intend to savor their offerings today and tomorrow.
I must get ready and head out to explore this beautiful, charming, historically and culturally rich city of Krakow, Poland (the Polish President - Lech Kaczynski - who recently perished in a plane crash in Russia, was buried here in Krakow two weeks ago in the Wawel Cathedral).
April 26, 2010
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