26.2 at 47: A Marathon Story, Part 1

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." ~ Steve Prefontaine

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I'm a runner. It just kind of happened. I ran in high school, but without too much interest or passion, even though we had a really strong running squad. Last year, I took it up a notch from the early 3 miler to wake myself up before work, to joining a training program to run a Half Marathon. Before that, I hadn't really considered the idea; it just didn't hold an appeal.

I joined a training program that was focused on raising money to fund scholarships for students interested in the study of children with special needs (disabilities). Great idea, though honestly, I just wanted to get in better shape, and I know enough about the life chrono clock to know every year I get older. Which brought me to the conclusion, after I posted a decent time in the Half Marathon, that I should run a Marathon. At least one, at some point in my lifetime. And thus was born a bucket list item.

What followed that Half was another training program for my second run a couple of months later. My training was going beautifully, until the week before, when my shins started hurting. The day of the race, I took off with the crowd, my shins were a bit sore, but I pushed on. At about a mile and a half into the race, something snapped and I stopped short. Pain shot up my leg. I tried to stretch, then hobbled forward. Stretched again, hobbled again. I tried a combo one legged hobble run. It just kept getting worse. I thought to myself, "I'm not going to beat my best race time." It didn't occur to me until I was well into my hobble run that I wasn't going to make it. Four miles into the race, I realized I couldn't make it, stopped and hobbled four miles back to the beginning.

An MRI months later confirmed I sustained a stress fracture. No running for 4-6 months. And that ended my 2010 Marathon goal.

The best runner leaves no tracks. ~ Tao Te Ching

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After limping my way through most of the rest of last year, I finally started adding small morning three-mile runs, then gradually longer runs, feeling nervous about reinjury. Then one day I stumbled across an article profiling Flea, the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers, who discovered running himself, and who read through two books that captured my attention: Chi Running, and Born to Run.

Chi Running, by Danny Breyer, focuses on proper body posture during - something I was learning before the injury, but didn't capture my interest, since I hadn't yet splintered my shin! I'm a little slow. The focus is to be able to run without injury or pain, but with the blissful ease of a child, regardless of age or ability. Honestly, there is no easier, cheaper, more effective exercise than running. I live near a bike trail that follows a river, so I can literally go out my door and be running in nature within a few minutes, and go as far as my body will allow. Outstanding for clearing my head, and much better for me than alcohol!

Born to Run profiles the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, who have mastered ultra-running, and who have honed the ability run run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. It's told as a journey of discovery by a journalist.

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"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." ~ Jesse Owens

"Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it." ~ Steve Prefontaine

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And then there were the movies about Steve Prefontaine - the first one titled Prefontaine, the second one, the next year, titled Without Limits. The runner's never say die attitude spilled out through both movies - particularly the latter, followed by his rock star emulating death at age 24 in 1975, after once holding American records in every distance event from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. Gutsy, independent, untamed.

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"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself." ~ John Bingham

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So, here I am, training for my first marathon, in less than four months. Am I concerned about posting a winning time? No. My training is secondarily about preparing, from a musculoskeletal, or a cardiovascular perspective. I've run a Half Marathon. I've pushed myself to do 12 mile runs on Saturday mornings, without having run at all for a week or two. I know I can do it, with the right training.

The primary focus of my training attention now is on the mental game. The stretch. Can I do it? What will it feel like? At 47, I'm beyond the point of caring what other people think - when I tell people I'm going to do it, it's about setting the stage. It's about giving myself one less reason to back out. I've paid registration fees. I've joined the training group. I've committed to the end game.

All that's left is the blood and guts of it.

And that's where the beauty of it lies.

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"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." ~ PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

Marathon Series: 26.2 at 47: A Marathon Story, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, The Final Stretch (Part 5) and I'm a Marathoner! (Part 6).