Everyone runs [walks, crawls, jogs, suffers through] a marathon for a different reason. For some it’s the purple shit. The masses that raise money for a cause greater than themselves… Some run for time, or glory, or money (um, not me). For some the run is to prove – I am capable, I can do this. Guess which runner I am? I AM capable. I did it! On May 31st for about 5 hours I ran 26.2 miles in San Diego, California. I got to finally cross “run a marathon” off my list. But crossing it off hasn’t taken future marathons off the radar. I haven’t resigned myself to gym classes or yoga and soccer as my only outlet. Quite the contrary, running a marathon has instead made me more determined. I’m hooked!
So, I finished and survived that one… now I need to do the next one faster! Sure, I went out and made a bunch of rookie mistakes. Things I knew I shouldn’t be doing but couldn’t stop because of the excitement and nerves of the day. First half too fast – weaving in and out of all these purple shirts and walkers in the middle of the road. Getting frustrated by a leg cramp on a hill at mile 18; thinking those last 6 miles after running 20 were the longest miles I’ve ever run. I bumped up my training by a month when I found out Seattle was sold out and parking was the disaster they said it was going to be, almost making me late to the start. Port-o-potty line does indeed cause me to miss the start! But these aren’t excuses for my time, just events and lessons to help me in my next race. October 18th in San Francisco! So the training begins again, and this time I’ll be a little smarter, a little more prepared and hopefully a little faster. But, like John Bingham, a contributor to Runner’s world wrote “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
So, I finished and survived that one… now I need to do the next one faster! Sure, I went out and made a bunch of rookie mistakes. Things I knew I shouldn’t be doing but couldn’t stop because of the excitement and nerves of the day. First half too fast – weaving in and out of all these purple shirts and walkers in the middle of the road. Getting frustrated by a leg cramp on a hill at mile 18; thinking those last 6 miles after running 20 were the longest miles I’ve ever run. I bumped up my training by a month when I found out Seattle was sold out and parking was the disaster they said it was going to be, almost making me late to the start. Port-o-potty line does indeed cause me to miss the start! But these aren’t excuses for my time, just events and lessons to help me in my next race. October 18th in San Francisco! So the training begins again, and this time I’ll be a little smarter, a little more prepared and hopefully a little faster. But, like John Bingham, a contributor to Runner’s world wrote “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
John Wayne and I before the big race at the OC Airport.
Also, a special shout out to AnGayle Vasiliou - who was
the best support crew over the Marathon weekend!
You are awesime!! Congratulations and good luck on the next one. Someday, maybe I will follow in your footsteps. Hope to see you soon. Betty
ReplyDeleteWay to go Sarah! That's an awesome achievement!
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