Day 4,395—First Marathon of May—

 

        I started running a little after 6 a.m., not sure which way I wanted to go, knowing I would need to run at least a marathon today, but not wanting to think about it. It was surprisingly cold. I was wearing my gloves with shorts and a T-shirt. I didn’t want to think about the miles or the weather or anything, and for the first two hours, I did that. I thought about the places I was. I noticed a park I have either never run around in or have and don’t remember, but today I found it had a working water fountain. I went all the way down Wydown until it stopped at Forest Park. I ran down the loop and marveled at how many things have changed. No more Tivoli movie theater, which probably bothers me the most. Now the historic building is a church. None of my favorite movie theaters are left. I also don’t remember whether the bookstores are still there. I didn’t notice them, but I wasn’t looking for them. I was just noticing things and thinking about all the other times I have come down this way. I will always think about the GO St. Louis Marathon, a million years ago, when I did it for the first time, and we ran down Delmar. There was a guy who had written his pacing chart on an index card and kept looking at it as we were running down Delmar 

        A lot of other runners were out, and I said good morning to almost everyone. I took a short rest at the Visitor Center in Forest Park. I sat down on a bench with a drink and noticed the runner I had just seen. I took the long way home, but I was still going to be short, so I ran all the way around a cemetery, so I could visit the swan. He was there, and I took a bunch of pictures. Once I made it home, I was exhausted but happy that I finished a marathon. I felt accomplished for a moment until I wondered how many miles I would need to run tomorrow.