Have you ever watched a marathon? No, I don't mean on T.V. where they only show the herds of runners in corrals from an aerial view and then zoom in on the elite. Have you ever REALLY watched a marathon? In person? To see all the different kinds of people that run? Tall, short, Asians, Latinos, Blacks, redheads, 16 year olds, 80 years olds, people who are extremely fit, people who are fit, people who are trying damn hard to be fit and then people who are not so fit who are struggling with weight, who have trained like the rest but are battling other battles besides the marathon on race day and are taking a step in the right direction by just being there. I can’t believe how many different people there are running marathons and other races. People who you'd see on the street and never once think they looked like a (marathon) runner. It amazes me how strong people are. It amazes me how the human mind stereotypes what a runner looks like only to have people shatter that notion into a billion different kinds of runners.
Every time someone runs past I think, "I wonder what their story is? I wonder why they are running?" They all have amazing personal stories. Sometimes if you run besides them they will tell you their stories to kill time and sometimes they'll wear their stories proud on their shirts,"Just Married!", "3 Months Pregnant!", "In Memory of Mom". They are all amazing. Regardless if they take 2 hours to finish a marathon, 4 hours or the allotted 6.5 hours. The ones who are the most amazing are the ones who keep on fighting to finish before they start breaking down the course. I promise you, you will never think "I can't" again and you will never be as inspired as you are at that moment as you watch these people accomplish their goal, their own personal goals that make them all runners.
No matter if they are running 4 minute miles or 14 minute miles, they are all running and therefore they are all runners. It is amazing that something like running can unite so many people to come and PAY to run knowing that most of them are going to walk away with nothing but a t-shirt. AND of course the pride of knowing they finished, broke a personal best time, had an amazing mile split or caught up to that runner at the very end. It is truly an amazing experience. And I hope it to be an amazing experience for me on Saturday as well.
No, I'm not running a marathon tomorrow but I am running my 2nd 5k race of the year. My race in February was my baseline and I have been looking forward to this race to see if I have improved at all. I am already really proud of myself. In 2009 I only clocked in 51.2 miles for the entire year and this year after only 3 months of running I have clocked in 133.3 miles!!! That alone is a personal victory for me. However, I want much, much, much more. I am currently about 1 minute slower per mile than last year and have not shown significant improvement in my pace since my first race. I hope that when I hear the gun go off that my adrenaline will help pump me to the finish line. It is almost nearly impossible for me to replicate the feeling that comes over me after the start of a race. I'm really hoping that I will see the improvement during the race.
Along with hope comes fear. I fear disappointment. No one puts more pressure on me than myself. When I want something and I work hard to attain it, nothing is more disappointing than failure. I hate failing at anything. I get upset if I fail to get the kids to the library on time for story time. You can imagine how devastated I feel when I don't achieve a personal goal that I have been working very hard to achieve. I don't plan on winning a medal or coming in 1st. I don't even care how I do overall in comparison to everyone else. I just care about my time. I'd like to finish in 27:51 and run an 8:58 pace. It seems like a very difficult challenge at the moment and I'm trying to prepare myself to accept I may have to wait later in my running season and extend my goal to the next race. BUT I'M GOING TO TRY and I will remind myself that no matter how slow I am, no matter how much I weigh, no matter how much my thighs rub against each other, no matter how much knee pain I may feel, I am a runner. I can persevere!
I hate when runners complain about their injuries all the time and blame their poor performance on everything that went wrong. I will try to not be like that and I will look past my aches and pains. I will run the best that I can and accept what I can accomplish tomorrow. My next race after tomorrow will most likely not be until May 23rd and I will try to remember that I will have another shot for self improvement on that day.
If you have a couple of minutes watch this video by Jeff Kline. He's a personal trainer and coach and owner of PRS FIT. He inspired my recollection of thoughts on all the different people who run and what makes them runners.
Look for my next post about running accessories I absolutely have to have!!!
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