Today was the first time in a little over three months that I laced up and hit the pavement. **Runner’s Tip** - Pizza and Ice Cream before a run, even 4 hours prior, is not a good call. It wasn’t until I got home and plugged in the route to see a 4+mi of meandering that I was struck with a simultaneous feeling of glee and dejection. Glee that I could still run at all, dejected that I couldn’t knock out 16mi jog just for kicks. I reckon that’s to be expected when you laze around all day thinking, “Hey, I ran a marathon once.”
April 2009. That was the month I crossed “MARATHON” from the list. It took years to build up the stamina – physically and mentally – but, with some decent coaching and a lot of support I powered through. The race itself was grueling… humidity, a 6am temperature of over 70 degrees, and wind gusts over 30mph. All during the race the same question played over and over, “what the hell were you thinking?!” followed by the most absolute statement, “I’m never doing this again.”
November 2011. The New York City ING Marathon. 26.2 miles of winding road, through the city’s five boroughs, that culminates in a huge finish within Central Park. So, in a little over a year, perhaps the answer to “what the hell were you thinking?!” will be revealed. Perhaps it was just a practice run, and perhaps the OKC Marathon itself was the last hurdle in the mind game. As for the other statement, “I’m never doing this again,” well, I don’t condone lying. But I’ll make an exception this time.
