20 Miles
This past Saturday I rolled out of bed at 6 AM, put on my running clothes, applied the always important sun screen, ate a bowl of cereal, kissed the boyfriend good bye and headed out to meet my marathon training group. Our goal that day - 20 miles. Just saying it hurts.
It had been over three years since I had run that far. My distance running career started in 1999. I started with a 5 mile race in the spring of that year and ended the year with the Chicago marathon (26.2 miles) in October. I can honestly say distance running changed my life - it gave me the confidence and ability to make some critical changes to the life I was living (including coming out of the closet and moving to California).
I did a good job of continuing my distance running after that first marathon and would go on to complete Chicago two more times (2000 and 2002) and added LA in 2001 and 2002. However, grad school started in 2002 and all bets were off. I continued to run, but it was significantly less. My Saturday "long" runs fell back to 8 miles. I began to run alone and did not even realize how much I missed the bond of the long distance runners.
So, after completion of school in 2004, I decided to do yet another marathon. I picked the Honolulu Marathon and tied it in with the AIDS Marathon fund raising effort. They provide the training, transportation to Hawaii, and lodging in Hawaii -all I had to do was raise $3,000 and run the race. Thanks to very generous friends and family the fundraising was not even an issue (I even had extra I was able to "credit" to other runners who were having a hard time making the goal).
The race is December 11 and we are now starting to get up there in regard mileage. I feel some of the old excitement and awe I used to have when I would think about what I had just accomplished. Going out to dinner with friends the night after the run, everyone was amazed that I had run 20 miles that morning and was still peppy enough to enjoy a few margaritas and some great Mexican food.
However, the best part is running with others. There are about 10 folks in my "pace" group (we all run about the same pace). Once we get out about 7 miles we seem to break into twos - each week it is a different mix up and I get to know quite a bit about a new person. When you have nothing else to do but run and talk, you tend to share quite a bit about yourself.
So, I had a new running companion this week and thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. We only have two more long runs left - 23 miles and 26 miles and then, of course, the marathon itself. What a great experience it has been - I know I will miss it once it is all over.
It had been over three years since I had run that far. My distance running career started in 1999. I started with a 5 mile race in the spring of that year and ended the year with the Chicago marathon (26.2 miles) in October. I can honestly say distance running changed my life - it gave me the confidence and ability to make some critical changes to the life I was living (including coming out of the closet and moving to California).
I did a good job of continuing my distance running after that first marathon and would go on to complete Chicago two more times (2000 and 2002) and added LA in 2001 and 2002. However, grad school started in 2002 and all bets were off. I continued to run, but it was significantly less. My Saturday "long" runs fell back to 8 miles. I began to run alone and did not even realize how much I missed the bond of the long distance runners.
So, after completion of school in 2004, I decided to do yet another marathon. I picked the Honolulu Marathon and tied it in with the AIDS Marathon fund raising effort. They provide the training, transportation to Hawaii, and lodging in Hawaii -all I had to do was raise $3,000 and run the race. Thanks to very generous friends and family the fundraising was not even an issue (I even had extra I was able to "credit" to other runners who were having a hard time making the goal).
The race is December 11 and we are now starting to get up there in regard mileage. I feel some of the old excitement and awe I used to have when I would think about what I had just accomplished. Going out to dinner with friends the night after the run, everyone was amazed that I had run 20 miles that morning and was still peppy enough to enjoy a few margaritas and some great Mexican food.
However, the best part is running with others. There are about 10 folks in my "pace" group (we all run about the same pace). Once we get out about 7 miles we seem to break into twos - each week it is a different mix up and I get to know quite a bit about a new person. When you have nothing else to do but run and talk, you tend to share quite a bit about yourself.
So, I had a new running companion this week and thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. We only have two more long runs left - 23 miles and 26 miles and then, of course, the marathon itself. What a great experience it has been - I know I will miss it once it is all over.
posted by The Random Gay Guy at 4:12 PM
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