Pleasure, Pain and Why

The marathon was a huge success, for the most part. Anna, Kyle, Emily and I completed the Frederick Marathon. We were granted an ideal day for a long run, and I am so proud of my amazing colleagues. However, I ended up tweeking my all-important IT band at mile six. I managed to juggle this unwanted (and undeserved, in my opinion) pain and my disappointed spirit to finish. My time was many minutes from my goal, but my goal had to shift. This discomfort has successfully motivated me for the next marathon, where I will persevere and continue to mold my mind and body into one running machine.

Although I could not focus on the "loneliness" of marathons this go-round (I had plenty of company as my knee, calf, and shin screamed and whimpered), I did spend many minutes and miles pondering why I run, and at what cost.

Do I run out of neccesity, for fun, for the speedy metabolism, for daily structure, or because I am an addict? I have been a long-distance runner since high school, and since then, this form of exercise has been a major part of every day.

Track practice was the highlight of most teenage afternoons. I would usually end up alone (or maybe with my sister) at dawn tracing the ever-present mower tracks around endless corn fields. During track meets, mom would meet us there with our necessary running fuel and my sis and I would strive to lap the boys while dad cheered and peered smuggly as his daughters consistently achieved this goal.

Then, I went to college, trained seriously, cared about winning races, and discovered my definition of the body-and-mind connection. Collegiate running allowed me to become consumed by the sport, fly on airplanes to exotic races (you know, like Nationals in Illinios), and to learn much about fitness from experts who strangely longed to twist, poke, challenge, and probe me.

After college, I retired the running shoes for almost a year. Then, when Aaron and I moved to the middle of the Deschutes National Forest where ponderosa pines tower over epic abandoned trails, I decided to re-lace the shoes and register for my first marathon.
Our backyard (for reals!)------->

Since then, I have completed four marathons. For half I trained alone, the other half I trained with a group of close friends. These two marathon lasso-ed groups of friends are now permanently connected to my heart-, and hamstrings. I loved training with Heidi, Danny, MeiLin, Mike, Anna, Kyle, And Emily, loved it as much as I love my lonely long runs.

Maybe I am an addict who longs for the structure (while secretly battling for more spontaniety) of constantly eating with a smile on her face as every calorie fulfills its purpose. I do love to run...I find it fun, and it may not be a surprise to some, but there are many more races to come!

Many thanks to MaryLee and Craig for the surprise cheers and to Liz, William, Jaime, Ben, and Monica for waking early and smiling earnestly as we crossed the finish line!