Happy Thanksgiving

I admit I was dreading telling people that I didn’t even make it to the starting line of the marathon. But everyone has been so kind. Starting with Husband who, as soon as he crossed the finish line, told me we could look for a spring marathon to run together (he doesn’t remember saying this). The next day at church, C. told me if I found a marathon not to far away that I wanted to enter in the next month or so, he would do it with me. Others just “grieved” with me. So on this Thanksgiving Day, I’m especially thankful for my many friends.

Gotta run…

Sidelined

What are the odds of a 24-hour bug hitting the night before the marathon? It makes no difference what the odds are, cause that’s what happened. Fortunately, husband was feeling fine and ran a good race. He could tell you about the difficult but picturesque course. All I can tell you about is the spot near the finish line where I clapped for several hundred runners while waiting for husband. It was a proud moment for me to watch him complete his first marathon. Now we’re even. One apiece.

I have the marathon t-shirts (they gave them to us when we picked up our race bibs) but I don’t think I’ll ever wear mine.

Never say never

After the 1993 Lausanne Marathon, I said it would be my first and last. The end had been torture; my stomach was cramping and my thighs felt like cement that had gradually set over the last dozen kilometers. I could hardly take another step after crossing the finish line. Over the next few weeks two of my toenails turned blue and fell off, and my toes were tender for months. But here we are, 16 years later, packed and ready to go to the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau Marathon. The gun goes off in 20 hours!

Gotta run…

Final stretch

The other day, Son 2 was telling us about his intramural cross-country run. A guy passed him 300 meters before the finish line, but Son 2 decided he wasn’t going to let that guy beat him, so he stepped on the gas and took back the lead. That reminded me of the question Son 2 asked me 16 years ago, when I ran my first marathon. Age 5 at the time, he said, “Mom, why didn’t you pass that lady at the finish line?” The spirit was willing, but the flesh… Wait a minute, at that point the spirit was not at all willing, the only thing that mattered was reaching the finish line.

Gotta run…

2009 One World Run

We couldn’t make it to Paducah, Kentucky, for the 5K to benefit Project Aids Orphan (Son 2 couldn’t even find a ride there from Arkansas). But Husband and I still participated today long distance. Son 1 and Daughter will run or walk the distance soon. We all wear our t-shirts proudly.

Gotta run…

Limited fame

The flyer for this year’s Christmas Midnight Run came in the mail this week. Low and behold I was in one of the pictures from last year’s race! Ok, it’s less than one square inch, but you can kinda tell it’s a picture of women. Here’s the bigger picture:

Gotta run…

Everybody run

Happy 40th Birthday, Sesame Street!

Gotta run...

Surrounded by beauty

If you had any idea how beautiful my long run was this morning, you would be seriously jealous. I ran through woods, the countryside, quaint villages – there was a farmer’s market in one and in the other two ladies stirring a 5-foot wide by 4-foot deep pot of soup – and crossed a wooden footbridge over a babbling brook. I saw multicolored autumn leaves, fields of lavender thistles, bright yellow sunflowers, horses grazing, snow covered Alps rising up across the lake, majestic sequoia trees, ducks swimming in a pond, vines crawling up century-old farm houses and mansions. If the Beaujolais Marathon course is anything like today’s run, it’ll be awesome. I’ll just need to remember to look up and not focus on my feet.

Gotta run…

The taper

Last weekend’s long run was “only” 24K, and next weekend’s will be a mere 19K. This part of my marathon training I like. In the seven days before the big day, I’m only supposed to log in 14K! I read that, “For some people, the idea of backing off on their training just before the big race seems counterintuitive.” Well, not to me! The article explains that “muscle damage that occurs during sustained training is also repaired during a taper. And if that isn't enough, immune function and muscle strength improve, as well, which reduces the odds you'll catch a cold or get injured just before the race. (...) In other words, it's time to chill. So don't blow it after all those weeks of training.” Don’t you love it when you get advice you actually want to follow?

Gotta run…