The aftermath

One thing that is very surprising about recovering from a Marathon is that, in my experience, the faster I run the Marathon, the more quickly I recover. The explanation I have for this is that, if the Marathon doesn't go to plan, it goes very wrong and you end up suffering for much longer at the end (both in terms of distance and time). It is this final stretch, I believe, that contributes to the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) over the next few days. The other thing that I have found surprising is that I usually have some kind of minor complaint going into a Marathon, like a slightly inflamed tendon or a tight muscle from the training, and yet afterwards it is as if the Marathon has "cured" me of that pain. This time I have been having problems with my big toe after tripping over and the bursa has been inflamed and very sensitive to the touch, until now! I suppose you tend to worry more about these little niggles in the run up to the race itself but I can only think that the body must produce so much of whatever it is that causes itself to repair damage that you come out even better off than you were before. Perhaps it is not so "unhealthy" to run a Marathon as people keep telling me..

Check out this video...

I apologize to the organizers of the race and to the runners who had their finishers photos compromised by my act of vandalism at the end of the race. The idea to "high five" the sign came to me just as I was crossing the line but the effort I was making at the end of the race turned an innocent gesture into a violent one.

The girl being interviewed is momentarily distracted 

I was completely unaware of having dislocated the sign until one of the race officials said to me, very elegantly, that the sign was swinging to one side and had nearly hit the head of the guy behind me. He said it in such a way that I did not feel any reproach and it reminded me of the time my wife and I got thrown in the swimming pool at god-knows-what time in the morning, fully dressed, the night of our wedding in Seville. As I snuck up to our room, dripping conspicuously, to get changed into some dry clothes, I was casually informed that "the reason we don't allow guests to use the swimming pool at night is that a glass might fall into the pool and break, requiring the pool to be completely drained". Again, no accusation, just information.

A team effort is required to fix the damage done