Phidippides was the first to ever run a marathon when he ran
the 26.1 miles from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, Greece to tell of the
Greek victory…then collapsed and died. He made history, but never got to
celebrate his historic run. Today, many
people around the world run marathons voluntarily, some multiple times, for the
mere laurel of a finisher’s medal.
Crazy, right???
I ran my first marathon in 2009. It was after several attempts…at
training. I would always start training,
but I would never finish and would abandon my plans to actually run the
race. It would always be some excuse or
another. I only had one legitimate
reason in 2002 when I became pregnant with my second son. But in 2009, I had no excuse and I was tired
of making them. Either I was going to
run a marathon or quit training for them.
I ran into the usual challenges of completing my training, but I trained
enough to actually run the race. I ran
the Rock and Roll Marathon in New Orleans in 2009 in 4 hours 36 minutes and
some change—30 minutes more than my goal of 4 hours. But I finished! It was a great run and I learned a lot about
myself and life.
I love running! It is
the ultimate therapy. I run to clear my
head. Some of my best thoughts have come
during a run. I started running again in
2016 during my divorce to run away from my sorrows. And so I decided that to complete the
catharsis, I would run another marathon—the same marathon in New Orleans that I
had run before. My training went well
and I was on track…until the last month.
I had a scheduled a move the week after the marathon and just could not
make the trip to run the race and so I postponed my victory run.
I signed up for the Publix Georgia Marathon in Atlanta for
March 2018 and began my training in October 2017. I faced many trials in early 2018—extensive
travel, illness, bad weather and a series of unfortunate events that kept me
from completing my long run training. I
could only run a half marathon as my longest distance before the marathon. But I was not deterred and knew that I could
do it. I had run it before. Despite being less than prepared, I ran it
any way. I just didn’t want to postpone
another time. I felt good the day of the
race and was well on my way to run a 4:30 and some change marathon. But alas, the hills of Atlanta got me. The course had 71 hills (yes, I counted!). Hill # 37 at mile 18 took me out! The hill was a slow incline that lasted almost
the entire mile. My legs said, “Girl,
you have straight lost your mind with this foolishness!” and gave out on
me. I never fully recovered and had to
slow my pace tremendously. I had to walk
the hills for the rest of the course.
And yet she persisted! I refused
to be defeated by 71 hills and finished in 5 hours, 36 minutes and some
change. I was disappointed in my time,
but elated that I did not give up. And I
did not die!
There were several lessons learned from this final victory
run (Yep, that was my last marathon. No
more Phidippidoing for me. I’m good!) I had three major races in 2018 that
yielded great gold for this thing we call life.
Sometimes You’ve Got to Run in the Rain!
In January, I ran the Hot Chocolate 15 K in Atlanta. The prize was a cool medal shaped like a
chocolate bar and real hot chocolate at the end! I was well prepared for this race, but the
morning of the race I woke to rain and cold.
Seriously?? Yep, it was raining for real. I really wanted to stay in my warm toasty bed. But a little rain wasn’t going to hurt
me. I put on my warmest clothes and found
a blue poncho in the trunk of my car and off I went. I looked like a smurf running the hills of
downtown Atlanta, but it wasn’t that bad.
I had a goal to achieve and a little rain wasn’t going to stop me. Eventually, it stopped raining and I ran a
record time. That’s how life is. You may face rain, a storm, or even a
hurricane, but eventually the sun does come out and you will be victorious at
the end.
This race yielded many great life lessons. I spent most of the race looking at the
backside of other runners. Not because of perversion, but I ran with my head
down to keep the rain out of my eyes. There
were a lot of posterior depictions—big ones, small ones, lopsided ones, where in
world is it ones—but they were all running.
You don’t need a perfect backside to run! You just need to move and run your race. There were also many runners with fancy
smancy rain gear. There was me in my
blue smurf poncho and other runners in trash bags. But all of us crossed the finish line. You don’t need perfect gear to run
either. You just need to move and run
your race. Far too many times, we don’t
go for the goal because we don’t have everything we think we need. No race is
ever run in perfect conditions. All it
takes is the runner and the will to keep moving.
Life never yields perfect conditions. You will always face rain, potholes, and the
occasional inconsiderate donkey running with an umbrella in a crowd of people. You can’t let these imperfections rob you of
the perfect opportunity to do something great!
If you quit when you run into obstacles, you’ll miss out on your hot
chocolate at the end.
Sometimes You Just Need to Enjoy the Beauty of the Race Course
The second major race I ran this year was the Diva Half
Marathon in Peachtree City, Georgia. I
had to drive a marathon to get to the race at Dark Thirty in the morning. Although the race was in March, it was
cold. No rain, but it was cold. I had registered to run this same race in
2016, but had to defer because of a work engagement that conflicted with the
race date. Luckily, I was able to apply
my registration for a future Diva Run. I
had almost forgotten about the credit and remembered when I was trying to plan
my long run recovery after almost a month of barely running. I could not miss out on the opportunity to
run in a tutu and earn a boa and crown!
I almost didn’t make the race because I had to get my son off for his
Spring Break trip early that morning, but I was determined. My mind was heavy during the beginning of the
race and it was my first long run in weeks.
My pace was off, but I was moving.
This race was on a flat terrain that wound through a beautiful nature
trail. At mile nine, I really began to
appreciate the beauty of the run! I got
to see the sun rise beautifully over the lakes and trees along the trail. The majestic views along this trail were just
magnificent!
And I almost missed out on them by focusing on the odds I faced
to finish. At one point, I began to
worry about finishing the marathon! It
was one full week away and I was worrying about a race I had not even begun. But, I raised my head above the dread and
enjoyed the beauty of the trail I was on.
It is so easy to be weighed down by the worries of the world
that we forget to enjoy the beauty of the moment. Our lives are a series of moments that create
impactful experiences. We miss out on so
many beautiful experiences because we don’t pay attention to the wonderful
moments that we have the ability to create.
We are existing rather than embracing the countless moments we have to
connect and create great experiences. As
I began to focus on the beauty of the trail, my pace improved and I was able to
fully appreciate the awesomeness of running by my own power in a race that I
ran against all odds. In the end, I wore
a crown!
The Worst Hills Are at the Finish
In every major race I ran this year, the universe was
conspiring to defeat me with steep hills.
The joke was on me because every time, the most difficult hill was at
the end. In the Hot Chocolate 15K, it
was at Mile 9. In the Diva Half
Marathon, it was at Mile 12. And in the
Marathon, it was the hill of all hills at Mile 18 and the 34 hills that
followed. How cruel? Who plans these courses? Do they place these hills to crush spirits
and render defeat? Or are they just
hills that happen to be there and you just have to push through? Hills occur naturally. They are not sinister plots to kill your
joy. They are just part of the
course. And so I wove a tapestry of
obscenities and made it up each hill to get to my finish line. The hills did not defeat me. They slowed me down. They depleted a little more energy. They tested my leg muscles. But they did not crush my spirit. I took each hill one step at a time until I
got to the top.
The thing about hills is that there is a glorious decline on
the other side. You get your wind
back. Momentum improves your pace. You make up the time you lost making it up
the hill. And so is life. You will have the ups and downs, but they all
balance out in the end when you just keep moving. You just need to move and run your race.
Although my Phidippedays are over, I will keep running. I will run my 5 miles regularly and the
occasional 10 mile long run. I may even
run a half marathon if I get to run in a tutu.
I will encounter the monster hill that meets me every day at mile .5 and
the rolling hills thereafter. Some days
I will run fast and others I will run slow.
Some days I will feel like a champion and others I may feel like I share
the fate of Phiddipedes. But I will keep
running. I will run in the rain. I will run for the crowns, boas, and tiaras
of life. Most of all, I will run for the
hot chocolate.
Life is better when you run to get
hot chocolate. My hot chocolate was also
my love. He was waiting for me at the
end of the 15K. He was a joy to see! He waited for me in cold and warmed me up with
a hug and kiss. Honestly, if we had not
been running the race together, I probably would have punked out and got back
in the bed when I saw the rain coming down.
But he dutifully picked me up and made sure I was prepared to withstand
the cold and rain. My love was a great motivation for finishing that
marathon. I knew he would be waiting
there for me. I kept looking for his
face along the route. Hoping he would
have mercy on me and come pick me up. I
almost called him at mile 24 when I really wanted to quit. But I persisted and kept going. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I ran
into his arms to get the kiss that took 26.2 miles to find. This hot chocolate was even better!
What is your hot chocolate?
A new job? A business you’ve
always dreamed of? A new love? A new life?
Whatever it is, there may be a marathon between you and your hot
chocolate. Just run it one mile at a
time. Just conquer one hill at a
time. Don’t worry about the perfect
posterior or gear. Run around the jerk
with the umbrella. Anticipate the
monster hills before the finish line and be determined to conquer them. Just don’t quit. You just need to move and run your race.
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