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| Medal from the last marathon I ran- Carmel (like carmel apple) NOT Car-MEL marathon in Indiana in April, 2012. |
I love running marathons. My first marathon was Chicago in 2001. Since then, I have managed to run a marathon every year- give or take. Next year I will be running my 13th and perhaps 14th marathon. I am already signed up for the Kentucky Derby Marathon in April and I might run Chicago for the 3rd time with some friends.
So, why do I love marathons? Let me count the ways:
1) You cannot 'cram' for a marathon.
2) A marathon takes commitment and dedication.
3) You must respect the distance.
4) Not everyone is crazy enough to attempt a marathon, although the sport is getting more popular.
5) You face adversity.
6) You learn about what you are made of.
7) If you are a back of the packer such as myself, you meet a lot of interesting people.
8) You learn about your body and how it reacts to training.
9) You realize that you are tougher than you thought you were.
10) You believe (and rightfully so) that you can do anything you set your mind to do.
I love standing at the starting line knowing that there is a story about to unfold in front of you. All of the training will get you to the finish, but what is going to happen during the race? Will it be a good day or will it be a bad day? How will you adjust your strategy? Do you have a strategy? My common strategies:
- Negative split the second half of the race (this never happens by the way)
- Finish the same day that I start
- One mile at a time
- And my all-time favorite- oh, let's just wing it.
As you can tell, I don't take myself too seriously when it comes to marathons.
Three marathons I have gotten the same time (which is my PR)- Chicago Marathon in 2004, Indianapolis Marathon in 2006 and Green Bay Marathon in 2008. My worst time marathon was Milwaukee Marathon in 2007. That was the 'hot' marathon.
I don't think I will give up doing marathons for a while yet. There are so many good marathons I would like to run. Here is some on my bucket list:
London Marathon on the docket for 2014
Des Plaines Trail Marathon- it's so close to my house it would be a travesty not to run it!
LA Marathon- I don't know why, but I have an attraction to it...Quebec City Marathon- I did my PR in the 1/2 marathon in 2003. I would love to do the entire race.
Marathons made me believe in what could be possible. Because of marathons, I had the courage to go back to school and get my master's degree. I adopted a healthier lifestyle. I found a new career. I made lasting friendships. I had to courage to try triathons. Training for marathons deepened my relationship with my husband (he trains with me).
I will never qualify for Boston. I will always be a back of the packer runner. I am ok with that. The reason why I run marathons is because I can!
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