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<\/a><\/p>\nSome marathons are races and some are runs. A race is when you push and try and really do something — break a PR, hit a new milestone, get a Boston Qualifier, or even just beat some guy dressed as the Eiffel Tower (the latter didn’t happen for me during my food poisoned Chicago Marathon 2010 — that damn monument crushed me). A run is when the pace kinda falls off, and it’s just a question of being out there and getting it done. The Disneyland Paris trifecta were runs — I wasn’t going for times per se, more hoping to maximize photo opps. Which I guess is a form of racing… hmmm… bad example.<\/p>\n
My failed sub-3 hour quest<\/a> were “races” that didn’t pan out. Those are fine examples of races I think.<\/p>\n Today was near perfect “race” weather — 50-ish at the start, a light breeze, a bit of a chill waiting at the start, and mostly overcast skies. Even so, I wasn’t sure I could pull anything off. When I saw the starting boxes offered a pristine logo for a 3:!5 pace and some Charlie Brown Christmas Tree styled scribble for the 3:30, I felt like I owed it to the ol’ Blockhead to go with the “underdog” 3:30. I didn’t think I’d be racing. I’d run. I very easily could wind up slower than 3:30 but it seemed a good compromise.<\/p>\n In the opening kilometers, I felt pretty great, happy to be moving, thinking, “huh… maybe I will race….” I passed the 3:15 pace group and thought, “yeah, maybe this is a good day to race.” But by the 5th kilometer marker, there was a bit of an uphill and, well, I suck at hills. Flat I can run all day. But throw in an uphill of ANY incline… even a degree or two… and I fold like I’m playing poker (that simile only makes sense if you know I’m a lousy, lousy poker player).<\/p>\n So as the 3:15 pace group passed me and then pulled farther and farther away, I realized today was NOT going to be a race day.\u00a0 My inner monologue included a long conversation between mind and body, but here’s an abridged version:<\/p>\n MIND: C’mon!\u00a0 We can do this!\u00a0 Let’s race!\u00a0 We’re in Belgium.\u00a0 Weeeeeeeeee!<\/p>\n BODY: Listen, bub.\u00a0 That’s all well and good.\u00a0 And we’re loving the waffles.\u00a0 And these new Hulk shoes are doing a-okay.<\/p>\n MIND: Hooray!\u00a0 Running is the best!<\/p>\n BODY: Settle down, pal.\u00a0 Seriously.\u00a0 We’ve got a headache.\u00a0 This sinus infection thing–<\/p>\n MIND: Endorphins!\u00a0 Endorphins!\u00a0 ENDORPHINS!<\/p>\n BODY: Good gravy, Marie!\u00a0 Take it down a notch.\u00a0 Look, we’re going to try.\u00a0 We’re going to do our best.\u00a0 But it’s not looking like a race day, sport.\u00a0 You push too hard and, well, there’s gonna be a problem, capiche?<\/p>\n MIND: Hey, how many songs can you think of with the word, “running” in it?\u00a0 “Running on empty,” “Born to run,” “Run Devil Run,” um…<\/p>\n BODY: Are you even listening–?<\/p>\n MIND: “Let the River Run!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Anyway, long story short, I ran the Brussels Marathon.\u00a0 Here’s some photos along the way with a few bits of commentary here and there:<\/p>\n Pre-Race Sunrise:<\/p>\n Check out this amazing Chiquita Playland for the Kids at the Chiquita 1K Run:<\/p>\n That’s, wait for it, bananas!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Faster than a slowly-moving tram car!<\/p>\n Well, as fast as a slowl- moving tram car!<\/p>\n Phooey.\u00a0 Slower than a slowly-moving tram car!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n A piper.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n I don’t know what this sign means.\u00a0 It was as we entered a long stretch that felt parkland-y.\u00a0 Maybe it means not development?\u00a0 For one brief delirious moment I thought it might mean, “Hey, if you’re a Transforming Building a la that scene in ‘Big,’ you’re not welcome here.\u00a0 I know the EU is all about diversity and protecting minorities but, ya know, we’re not always consistent.”<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The Bandundu Water Jazz Band and a real band beside it.<\/p>\n I stopped for photos but didn’t quite capture the animals playing their instruments in the fountain.\u00a0 So here’s a stock image:<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n I missed the first road sign… but this was my Waterloo.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Look a the adorable train crossing sign.\u00a0 I choo-choo! choose you to post here!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n This man has a squeeze box.\u00a0 It goes in and out and in and out.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The full and half marathon routes merged at the 37K mark… so 5K of shared space to the end.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Many, many pipers!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n For the life of me, I cannot parse this shirt.\u00a0 I have a college degree in Communications Studies and I got nothing.<\/p>\n Yet when I googled it, it’s a quote by Jules Henri Poincar\u00e9.\u00a0 The full quote is apparently:<\/p>\n \u201cThinking must never submit itself, neither to a dogma, nor to a party, nor to a passion, nor to an interest, nor to a preconceived idea, nor to whatever it may be, if not to facts themselves, because, for it, to submit would be to cease to be.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Man.\u00a0 That’s some seriously esoteric running wear.<\/p>\n My “Kevin” shirt was a hit with the crowd who would occasionally see it, laugh, smile and shout, “Allez, Kevin!”\u00a0 I guess the Europeans aren’t as used to seeing egotistical shirts.\u00a0 But I didn’t hear anybody shout at this guy, “Allez, Poincar\u00e9!\u00a0 Allez!”<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n We rounded back to the start line around the 38th KM.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n And no marathon in Brussels would BE through Brussels if we didn’t hit Grand Place!<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The final stretch…<\/p>\n … and Fin.<\/p>\n I think I was 143rd.\u00a0 I didn’t get the text alerts I signed up for to get my results and they haven’t posted anything on their website.\u00a0 But it wound up being a 3:22\/3:23 day I think.\u00a0 A really strong run to be sure.\u00a0 But a run nonetheless.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n A few post-race bonus shots — after a shower and “frit” lunch, I had planned on visiting the Belgisch Stripcentrum, or Belgium Comic Strip Museum.\u00a0 It wasn’t the 10 euro admission that dissuaded me from entering.\u00a0 I just wasn’t in the mood to read.\u00a0 I know that’s ridiculous on a number of levels — how much reading could there be at a comic strip museum (answer: way more than you’d think).\u00a0 While Belgium’s comic contributions are legendary, from Tin Tin to the Smurfs to all kinds of other art and characters, I just wasn’t feeling a museum.\u00a0 I did however avail myself of the freebie sculptures outside and in the foyer:<\/p>\n I realized before I left my hotel this morning that this would be my 365th marathon. So every day for a year of my life I’ve gotten up and walked to a marathon’s start line. This weighed heavily on me throughout the race, both as an unearned privilege and a crazy hobby. \u00a0 \u00a0 Some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runkevinrun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"