Why Another 26.2.....

Well it’s a little less than a year later, and I am back with Team In Training to do another 26.2 miles while also raising money to find a cure for blood cancers! This marathon takes me to Nashville to run on April 25th—5 days after my 25th birthday! Many of you may have known that I had attempted to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October this past year following the first marathon in June, but I think my body was just burnt out and needed a break, so I deferred my race number until next year.

While I am not one hundred percent confident that my body is ready for another race (mostly due to stress), I decided that I wanted to join up with TNT for my second round after going to watch the Marine Corps Marathon in October. After a bit of hesitation (I didn’t want to feel like a quitter watching a marathon I had signed up to do), I decided to go and cheer on some friends, and one of my former Coaches for my San Diego season, run with a few of my old Team In Training teammates. Now, for everyone that has read my blog in the past, or has talked to me since my experience in San Diego, you know the enthusiasm I have for the marathon. However, I have to say, watching the marathon was just about as inspiring for me, if not more, than running it was. Perhaps it was because I went as someone who has already completed one, but watching thousands of people of all ages, races and abilities pass before me to get to the finish line was just so incredible. My friends and I stood at mile 18, the time when things get to be really tough, and clapped and screamed for literally 4 hours straight. We were there for the first man and woman to pass and stayed until the very last person went by, with the cop car following them and all. So, you may ask, why is it so inspiring to watch crazy people run so many miles?

I think the marathon and any endurance race is such a testament and tangible piece of evidence of the human spirit. To begin, watching the leaders, both the men and women, who pass by with such apparent ease and grace, looking as if they have barely broken a sweat, is almost an unreal sight on its own. Then, behind them are thousands of everyday people. The elite runners barely make up 5% of the race, leaving 95% or more racing towards the finish. Us non-elite runners have NO chance of coming in first, of gaining any fame or taking home any money. So, why do we do it? We do it because we are all trying to prove something. I’m not even sure if we all know what it is what we want to prove, but you can see it in the faces of each runner as they pass you on the sidelines. I think it definitely helped to have gone through one to really appreciate what was happening in front of me. As someone who has been there before and was standing at mile 18, it was easy for me to understand what most of them were feeling. Mile 18 is when what you are doing really starts to set in. The, pardon my language, ‘oh fuck what the hell was I thinking signing up for this?!’ Before that, thanks to the adrenaline, you are enjoying the ride. But at around mile 18, you start to notice pains and realize, oh shit I have another 8.2 miles to go. Many many people, Lance Armstrong included, have been quoted as saying, 13.1 miles is NOT halfway through the marathon, but rather it’s when you hit mile 20 that you are at your halfway point. Mile 18 is just about there. So, for all intense purposes, I think that miles 18-26.2 is when that human spirit that I was talking about really shines through. You see it in every one of the faces that passes by you. I have seen many movies/interviews with even the elite runners that talk about the absolute struggles of the marathon. Yes, even those individuals who at mile 18 look un-phased by 18 miles, are hurting and are battling through, and even though you may not SEE it, you know they are because that is the marathon. You see it in those who hear your cheers of encouragement and although they are appreciative, are at the point in their run that they would really rather tell you to just shut up, as they struggle to tell themselves to keep going. You see it in the face of the charity runners, who proudly wear their causes on their racing shirts and as you scream out, “GO TEAM,” burst out into a smile. You see it in the face of the stranger who is struggling and you call out the name on their shirt and even if it is just for a few steps, they speed up, just a bit. You see it in the man who has no legs and is peddling his way with his arms on a skateboard. You see it in the last man in the race, being hurried along by the cut-off car. Maybe I am nieve in thinking that anyone, runner or not, who watches a marathon would be moved, but I think it’s impossible not to be. I think it’s impossible because how is it not inspiring to watch so many people at the same time conquer things they might have thought unimaginable? As I said, it’s the closest thing to a tangible understanding of what life is all about-every day people conquering things they thought unimaginable.

Clearly, I didn’t leave my spectator experience of the marathon upset that I did not participate. Rather, I left inspired to sign up for my next one. It was as if I remembered why I love running again. So, here I am, about 5 months out and back with TNT again. This season, I am not only running as a member of TNT, but I have gotten a bit more involved and I am a Team Captain. As a Team captain, I am a mentor to the members on my team, helping them with fundraising tips, team building and tips on what to expect. Because of the holidays, I have only seen my team twice, once at the Kick-off breakfast and then at our first run. At the Kick-off breakfast, I decorated my table with different colored garland, mardi gras beads, purple pom-poms and then made goodie bags for each of my team members that consisted of Gu (the energy gel), silly star sunglasses, ridiculous little wristbands, candy and Accelerade. After the first run, a few of us went out to breakfast together and got to know one another a bit more. Between my teammates, the rest of the teams, and my fellow Team Captains, I think this season is going to be a blast all around! We have already made plans for game nights/pasta Fridays before Saturday runs, and I can tell that this group definitely likes to have as much fun as they do sweat it out in the many miles!

My goal this season is to get my teammates across that 26.2 mark in April and to fall in love with running. I truly want to go out to Nashville in April and have fun with the Country music and have as much of a great experience as I did in San Diego. Along the way, I definitely would like to raise a good chunk of money to go towards finding a cure for blood cancer—which I will talk about in my next blog.

Until then, I’ll see you out on the trails. Don’t forget to smile!

GO TEAM!