RITCHEY FINISHES MARATHON IN RECORD TIME!

Hard to believe, but after finishing my marathon today I was barely winded. 


I actually did finish 26.2 miles today - but I started on April 8th.  Now before you discount (or laugh at) my marathon effort, consider this.  Even though it took me longer than yesterday's winner of the Boston Marathon, I still achieved my goal. 

Often when I'm at the YMCA a guy will hop on the treadmill next to me and crank it up to a maximum speed of 15 mph.  I continue to run (at 3.5 mph) and just wait.  Almost always I am still running when they hop off.  I'm not trying to say anything here except there is more than one way to achieve a goal.  I'll blame this behavior on my mom.  When I was 4 years old she would always read me a fable - something about a Tortoise and a Hare.

Just one more comment about my time on the treadmill.  Not sure how it is with others, but I really struggle at the beginning.  But once I reach the 25 minute mark, all of a sudden it seems like I can keep going forever.  The sore legs and pain in my feet disappears. 

Makes me wonder if I've given up on things in my life because they have seemed to difficult.  Maybe there was a solution right around the corner, but I jumped off the treadmill of life too soon.  Hummm.