Hello Friends, Family and Friends Considered Family,
So here I am, three weeks away from the big race day (May 8th). I'm to the point in my training where I'm, what the experts call, "tappering". I like to call it "taking it easy physically with a twist of mental torture".
A dear friend of mine, Stacy Leavens, ran the Portland marathon this past fall. I'll never forget her telling me that tappering was the hardest part for her. I remember thinking, "Oh crazy Stacy! I can't wait to get to the point in my training where the weekend long run says 7 instead of 17!". However, per usual, Stacy's wise words ring true. It's difficult to lace up for a two mile run for, well, two reasons. One - two miles seems worthless in comparison. Two - I find myself actually wanting more mileage. This isn't an attempt to brag, or self-aggrandize - or at least I hope it doesn't come across as such. It's more a commentary on the way running infiltrates your mental and physical being in a way that's inescapable. You love it, you hate it, you crave it. A recipe for addiction you say? You're 100% correct! Since I've been terrible at keeping up with this blog post I figured I'd use some of my extra time to re-cap some moments from my training.
#1. One of the first questions you get when you say you're training for a marathon is "have you ever had to [insert bodily function] while running?". Urination ain't no thang. Number two is a bit more embarrassing. Had you asked me 6 months ago about this topic, I'd have scrunched my face and said "Sick. no! that's only for, like, those crazy, extreme people, and I'm definitely not one of them! I'd totally just quit my run, go home, and do my business". Once again, running has humbled me. All I'll say is this: 15 mile run at home in rural Michigan, 7.5 miles into it, nothing but a corn field and a water tower to hide behind in sight, and a human urge that can't be denied. I have entered the ranks of "those crazy extreme people" and I'm not half as ashamed as I thought I'd be. Making mom and dad proud every day :)
#2. About five weeks ago, I headed out for a 19-mile run. Assuming that if I couldn't do this one, I couldn't run the marathon, I left the house with gusto and stupidly, in a brand-spankin'-new pair of shoes (top of the list for do-not-do's in running). I am not running this marathon for time, so for my long runs I simply head out without my i-Pod and pound the pavement til I've completed the distance. It's meditative in a way and keeps me from obsessing over my performance. I tell you this because I genuinely do not know what mile I had to stop the run. I believe it was somewhere around 13 or 14. Tendinitis in my right knee had me hobbling and people running along the Lakeshore Path here in Chicago were giving me the "why don't you just quit" look. So defeated, and shedding a few tears, I did. Dejectedly getting on the bus to ride home, I sat next to a 7-year old girl and her 3 -year old brother. Both had ice cream from Navy Pier and proceeded to tell me all about their day. The little girl claimed the Ferris wheel didn't go high enough and that no matter what, she wasn't scared. The little boy showed me how his action figure shot things and claimed he too was not afraid of some silly Ferris wheel. This moment made me realize that my run wasn't the most important thing and that simply sitting back and enjoying the small things, like ice cream and sophisticated conversations with little ones, was what made life worth living. Needless to say, I walked in the door, petted my two cats and scooped out a big bowl of ice cream myself.
#3. After taking a week completely off of running, I returned from a spring break trip to Washington, D.C. and decided to run my defining 20-mile run at home in Michigan. I love the scenery there and prefer it to urban running when I'm out for more than an hour or so. Unlike my previous 19-mile debacle, I started this run with the mentality, "Screw it. Just run". And so I did. At mile 17, exhausted and admittedly talking to myself (someone had to encourage me), I ran under a big shade tree near the side of the road. Feeling a warm sensation trickle down my right shoulder, chest, and eventually settle on my thigh, I convinced myself it was just gooey sweat and that I had to keep going. Three miles until I got home where I knew Mom, Dad, Leigh Ann, Thorsten and Kaia were waiting with the grill ready and the wine open (seriously, someone tell me this is waiting for me at the end of the marathon and I.WILL.FINISH). Then it clicked. Sweat isn't that consistency. Looking down, I saw what turned out to be a giant glob of, you guessed it, bird feces. Cursing, wiping bird poo off my body with dry leaves, I realized that sometimes you get the s*i# and sometimes, the s*i# gets you. Three miles and a shower later, I told the story with a glass of Merlot in hand.
Sooooooooo...now that I've shared my failures, successes and embarrassing moments, I will ask you kindly to share it if you got it. Donations to the YWCA, an organization I am personally familiar with and hold in the highest regard, go to help buy materials that are provided to women and children using the residential facilities and help keep the YWCA of Kalamazoo's programs functioning. You don't have to give much. You don't have to give anything at all. You can give 1,000's if you got em, we won't complain. All I ask is for your support of the Y's mission to "Eliminate Racism and Empower Women" as well as your support in my running.
All are welcome to the marathon. May 8, 2011 starting at 7:30am. Last I read, registration had tripled what they were expecting. I'd love to see you out there and THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED, SUPPORTED ME, LAUGHED AT MY STORIES AND ENCOURAGED ME TO KEEP GOING. Couldn't do it without you!
https://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=bpLJJTOvHmE&b=5282383&en=6eIFILOkH4JAITOzF8JAISMzGlKVLYNyEdKDISPzGfIIIQNxHsF
**Donate here and write "Laura's Marathon" in the "notes" section. AND THANKS! https://www.kintera.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=bpLJJTOvHmE&b=5282383&en=6eIFILOkH4JAITOzF8JAISMzGlKVLYNyEdKDISPzGfIIIQNxHsF
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