London, England (The Start Line)
My Warm-Up Was Longer Than the Marathon Record
In London, the winner ran the first official marathon under two hours. At the finish, I was still stretching.
At the London Marathon on Sunday, the winner finished in 1:59:30, the first official marathon under two hours. The runner-up got under two hours too, in his first marathon. Almost sixty thousand people finished, a record. I was warming up.
My Warm-Up Log
0:00 The race starts. So does my warm-up. Toe touches. I got very close to my toes.
0:30 Arm circles. Forward, then backward, then forward again, to be fair to both directions.
1:00 Snack break. A runner needs energy, even one who hasn’t started running yet.
1:30 Deep breathing. I breathed so deeply that a man asked if I was all right. I said I’m better than all right. I’m prepared.
1:59:30 Somebody wins the London Marathon. I’m on my second set of lunges.
Next Year
I’ll start my warm-up the night before. That gives me a big head start. A world record takes planning, and I’m a world-class planner. Very few people stretch at my level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did you finish the marathon?
I finished the warm-up, which is the hardest part. The rest I've saved for next year.
How do you stretch for two hours?
Carefully, with breaks, and a lot of talking about stretching.