It is over

Well, I did make it although, like the winners, I struggled with my time. Story.

Mbarak Hussein and Nicole Aish won the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, each posting the second-slowest times in the event's 24-year history.

Hussein, a Kenya native who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., covered the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 28 seconds. The 29-year-old Aish of Boston, making her marathon debut, opened up a big lead early and won in 2:40:21.

The slow times can be partly attributed to the 65-degree temperature at the start and relatively humid and windy conditions.

Although I adjusted within the past couple of days to a "too finish" goal when the weather we would experience became clear, I too went slower than I had generally hoped (4:28, net). For me, the humidity was really tough given that, during exercise, I sweat more than any person on the face of the earth. I figure that I drank between 2.5 and 3.0 gallons of water and Powerade on the course, but no PortaPotty stops were necessary for me at any time during the entire race. Enough (too much?) said.

Time to move on.

UPDATE: Photographic proof; this picture was taken within 200 yards of the finish.