I was inspired to run a marathon because I wanted to try something new, challenging and very, very different from my “normal” athletic activities. So much of my athletic has focused on team sports, so the idea of accepting an individual athletic challenge was intriguing. For my first marathon in New York, I followed a training schedule for novice marathoners that was 12 weeks in length. For subsequent marathons (Philadelphia, Scranton, Washington DC and Boston—twice), I followed different training schedules, each about 12-14 weeks in length.
When I finished the first marathon, I was hurting in places I did not know existed on the human body. I lost four toenails, and could not walk up or down stairs. I swore I would never do a marathon again; that it was a one-time adventure. Within a few days I was dissecting the race and how I could improve my time, and within a week, I had signed up for the Philadelphia marathon with the goal of qualifying for Boston. At first, running the marathon was simply an adventure to complete, but it soon became a process that I wanted to refine, improve and continue.
When I was younger, running was a way to maintain fitness for other sports. Now, running is a way to socialize, or a way to renew and recharge. I keep running gear in my car so I can run spontaneously, and look forward to running new routes whenever I am someplace new. I have favorite runs (around Walden Pond, the bike path in Santa Monica or Santa Barbara, the woods at Duke University…) Running has become fun, and not a chore.
On occasion I will clock the distance as I drive and each time I am astonished how far 26.2 miles really is. Knowing that the human body can run this distance confirms for me how much we all can accomplish. Interestingly, I think this knowledge makes me more patient with others and with myself… not patient, just more so.