The Reason I Run

I know I have already alluded to the fact that I run so I can shove handfuls of Hershey Kisses into my mouth, but really, I run because I can. This week has been a stressful one with way too many emotional lows. A father of a very good friend passed away earlier in the week and I made arrangements to attend the wake Friday evening and funeral Saturday morning. If we lived in our hometown, and weren't Stuck in Chambana, this would be slightly easier, but I wasn't going to miss this. I know how important it is and I wanted to make sure I paid my respects to such a caring man. ****** On top of this, my father, had his hip replaced on Friday morning. While this was elective and not necessarily a serious surgery, I don't handle these kinds of things very well and, of course, worried about him and dreaded visiting at the hospital--the place that I've experienced way too many fainting spells than I care to keep track of. Fortunately things went well, but this is yet another reminder that I am getting older, people's bodies only work for so long and ultimately we have to make the best of them. This is a lesson I've seriously taken to heart ever since Tony's mom passed away in 2008. *** In all seriousness, the funeral service for my friend's father was not only a great tribute and celebration of his life, but probably one of the best services I have attended before. It's not too often that you get to meet people who really and truly view the glass as half full. No matter what cards this man was dealt, he persevered like a true hero. These are the kinds of stories that make me want to be a better person and to do things I've never done before. Leading into the movie I saw last week, My Run, was a motivational slide that asked what can be done with Two Feet and a Heart. Anything really. If I have two working feet and a healthy heart, there is no reason I shouldn't go out and run a marathon. Life could be much worse. Today I took on my second 20 miler. I had been extremely nervous about this probably starting on Friday. I was especially anxious this morning, for a number of reasons. 1.) Take note of the temperature at 6:40 in the morning...64 degrees.

2.) My middle toe on my right foot is completely dead. I made a last minute switch into my Smart Wool socks, which proved to be a wise choice. I can not rave enough about these socks, in fact, I should be an advertiser for them!

3.) I played around with some of my running routines due to last week's fiasco. This included only eating bread for dinner (don't ask me why I did that, nothing else seemed to sound good since I was so nervous) and the true Godsend...Imodium!

I drove to a meeting spot to catch up with Mary, a gal I occasionally run with. We set out from the car, which was parked by my school, to keep fuel accessible during the route and a bathroom as one of our many options. We took on the marathon route and thanks to a friend's Garmin, I knew exactly how far we were going and at what pace.

We started out a little faster than I probably should have, common running error, but fended well for the first 8 miles or so keeping it under a 1o minute mile pace. I was glad to show Mary around part of the course that she hadn't tested out yet and we had a lot to talk about. This was probably another problem, exerting extra energy talking.

We were mindful of trying to slow down and did just that, especially on the lovely gentle mile incline of the course that appears around mile 24. Despite our few breaks and best attempt to stay hydrated, the 77 degree heat just wore us out. The last 5 miles included a few walking breaks and a couple full out stops for me to control some of my dizziness. Thankfully we took advantage of Panera's ICE and cold water and dumped it on ourselves.

Thanks to Mary's constant encouragement, we came in at 3:43....this includes all stops since I never stop my watch. While it wasn't my best run, it definitely beats out last week's run and I know I can take on the marathon on April 30th.

Shortly after my return home, I tried an ice bath. Let me tell you, an ICE bath is just as cold as it sounds. My legs did feel great afterwards, so I may even consider it in the future.

I've learned a lot about myself over the last few months. One thing's for sure, I could care less what I look like on my run...never thought I'd be tucking in my shirt and wearing BLUE socks with white shoes. At the end of the day, though, there are way more important things to worry about.