For a number of years, I’ve taken advantage of Austin’s cool months by training for a half marathon.
13.1 miles is, to my mind, the perfect distance.
Long enough to feel rather rad at the finish, reasonable enough so as to walk away uninjured and with some non-running free-time still on my hands.
That said, the specter of the marathon has only gotten more insistent as I’ve aged.
And this year, it seems, the fear of regret has driven me to the brink.
I’ve committed to running a marathon.
In February.
With my sister and, we hope, at least one other lunatic.
Um.
I mean, runner.
Now my goal is to turn that ‘fear of regret’ into something a bit more… inspiring.
I mean, I doubt that ‘fear of regret’ would feature prominently on a motivational poster.
You think?
So.
Joy of running?
Pleasure in distance?
Tangible madness?
Maybe I just ought to appreciate the fact that this kind of marathon takes just a few months to prepare for and then 26 miles to complete.
Whereas the book publishing variety is rather more excruciatingly long.
At least I’ll have lots of time on the trails to think through these profound topics thoroughly and well…
Sweetheart, when it comes to training for a marathon, I’ve got no great wisdom. I’ve run two and trained for the first one(Chicago) better than the second (Disney). Enjoyed every minute of the first and survived the second. Felt a huge sense of accomplishment both times. But I will say that the whole time during the first one I kept thinking, “I am so glad I trained hard for this” and the whole time during the second I was thinking, “I wish I’d trained harder.”
It feels very much like a pregnancy, with all that time put in and leading up to the big day, worrying that the smallest thing will go wrong at the last minute.
But you can do this. If you can run a half marathon (my FAVORITE distance because of the reasons you mentioned; long enough that you have to train for it, but short enough not to kill you), you can run a marathon. And you will feel so proud and deserve to feel so proud when you do. I think the best benefit for your writing will be the mind-wandering, needing-to-be-distracted-from-the-pain, long-distance time you put in. I’m looking forward to seeing all the stories that will be birthed as a result. 🙂
well, this lunatic, i mean, runner, is ready to inspire and be inspired!
whee! mar-a-thon! mar-a-thon!
A friend of mine has invited me to do a half marathon in December. I’m a walker, not a runner, but a fast walker, and she is going to send me some training info.
I might even do it, if I don’t get too scared!
The marathon comes right in front of our house again this year. We’ll have a big group ready to cheer you on!
hokgardner