Today I ran my first marathon. I’d like to offer some thoughts which aren’t probably new. But first a little background of how I got here.
Eight months ago I started running. I started running out of necessity. My weight was reaching 190 lbs.(I have lost over 25 pounds since then) I have always worked out and I was doing weights but it wasn’t helping me much. So I decided to do bicycling. I bought a new bike and started going out on rides. One day at my work, I was staying late and just decided to go running. I ran for about 30 minutes. and my feet felt like I had weights on them. But I decided running would be easier since I didn’t need much. So I ran six days a week. I started running 30 minutes. and then I increased it to an hour. I reached 13 miles on one occasion but not without my physical troubles. My knee hurt for about a month. I tried different shoes until I found the ones that were comfortable. I also suffered from headaches and neck pain. It took a while to get over them. But I continued running. I decided that one day I could run a marathon and today I ran my first one. I hadn’t ran this far ever. I ran in Jr. High cross-country but nothing this long.
I ran the Huntington Beach Surf City Marathon today. I arrived at 6:20 AM and it was packed with people. It was surreal. Quickly I joined the first wave of runners and in minutes we were off. I saw so many people of all ages, shapes, attitudes and endurance (some where so good that I think they are machines). So many people all along the way giving us encouragement. It was incredible. My first 15 miles were easy. I hardly drank water. I stopped once to fix my water belt. I had my iphone on and I listened to music until my battery died around mile 16. My extra battery didn’t work for some reason (it worked at home perfectly when I checked after the marathon). I enjoyed every passing moment. Once we got to mile 18 we were running along the shore. The ocean was beautiful. I had been warned about mile 20. The block. So I was looking forward to it. I reached it and felt good. It didn’t stop me, in fact I only stopped once when I fixed my belt. It did get harder though. I started drinking much more water. I took my pain pill, I took my Tums when I felt my knee locking up. I did feel some pain on my knee after mile 20. But I was determined to finish it. After mile 22 or so I started picking more speed. My goal was to finish the marathon under 5 hours so I timed myself. I finished strong, after 4 hours and 42 minutes. I walked about a mile and a half to meet my ride. I couldn’t communicate without a phone and tried to find a public telephone but apparently they don’t exist anymore. Luckily, I saw my son driving my wife’s car. I called them. I ran to where they stopped. I could barely do it. My knee was in so much pain. But I did it!
Running the marathon was an incredible experience. But I have to say that if you run alone, you are alone. You do get people on the sides encouraging you but you are the runner. You must do the work. You must pace yourself. You must finish it. So is life. No one can live your life. People can encourage you but you must do the work. You must finish it strong even if it is hard and you feel lonely. Yes, you can even feel lonely when you have hundreds or even thousands around you. But that shouldn’t stop you. It didn’t stop me.
I look forward to my next marathon, whenever that is. For now, I’ll focus on my trail run in two weeks.
Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.
