2011-11-20. The 2011 NYC Marathon, two weeks ago today.
I ran my first marathon two weeks ago today, on Sunday, November 6. I decided to bring the Yashica T4 and a couple of rolls of film, and shoot the experience. Here are some pictures from that day, and a couple from the day after. I wish these pictures could capture the excruciating pain and excitement and ultimate euphoria. They’ll just be quiet reminders instead.
A few people have said that running 26.2 miles is not a good thing for the human body. Quite a few tell me about issues with knees. Yesterday a friend was telling me about a friend who had to quit at mile 18 because he started feeling a weird pain in one of his legs. Doctors checked him the next few days but found nothing. So he got a CAT scan and they found a brain tumor, thankfully discovered in time.
Anyway, I didn’t want to listen to those people. There’s a lot we do that is unnatural to the human body. We smoke, we fly in space, we drink to oblivion. If you think about it, we’re killing ourselves every day, with these pleasures and addictions that we can’t seem to shake off. Well, every day that goes by gets us closer to death. A little excess sometimes is not a bad thing. Tempting death, even in minuscule amounts, is a reminder that we’re very much alive.
Those people were right. But who cares?
Because me too, at around mile 18 (the famous “wall” comes at around mile 20), started feeling these cramps in my legs, and they intensified as I continued. They became so unbearable towards the end that I had to stop for a little bit. I drank some gatorade, ate a little banana. And started walking again. I seriously thought that I was going to have to walk the last three miles.
People on the sides are screaming my name, because it’s written on my t-shirt. There’s thousands of people watching this thing. With a little of that encouragement, I thought, What’s a couple more miles? I started running again. They seemed the longest and most painful I have ever experienced. I mentioned to some friends afterwards that my legs felt as if they had turned to glass, and I could easily shatter them any minute. There was really no option but to ignore the pain and continue.
My mistake was probably starting too fast. My dad, who was tracking me online from Peru, wrote me an email right at the beginning, “João!! Slow down! You’re going too fast!!” Dad, I wasn’t checking my emails at the time… Well, I paid for it at the end. But that’s ok. I did it just under four hours, and that to me was quite an achievement.
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“A little excess sometimes is not a bad thing. Tempting death, even in minuscule amounts, is a reminder that we’re very...
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Possibly the nicest thing someone has said about me in a little while. Thanks Jake.
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my very very good friend, peruvian charmer, stud muffin, thai food enthusiast, life endorser, joao canziani ran a...
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