Friday, April 18, 2008

I think I can! I think I can!

I have been training for the ING 1/2 marathon since my last glass of champagne on New Year's Eve. I have been doubly excited for this because my oldest friend, Warren James Thomas, is running this too. Warren has come so far in the fitness category, I wanted to be there to witness his special moment, and decided to run along with him.

Training for the race was fairly easy. I would train at the gym because its cold in New York during the training months. I would watch my political commentary shows on Sunday mornings as I ran along. Piece of cake!

This same sentiment did not follow me to race day however. March 30 in Atlanta, GA did not present the usual spring like temperatures. N-O. The temperature was 44, and I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

This was just the beginning of lengthy list of things that seemed to go wrong.

1) I never found my stride, or that mythical runners high.

2) There was no mile markers between Mile1 and Mile 4. Honestly, if after Mile 1 the next marker said Mile 2, I was quitting.

3) There were hills. There were no such things at my gym.

4) My knees were falling apart.

5) It was cold.

6) The only thought running through my head was "if you can do this without stopping, the marathon is not in your future!"

So I finished the race in one piece, and could barely walk for 4 days. But I did it. It doesn't seem so daunting looking back, and a full marathon doesn't seem so formidable. So maybe I will find my stride in November as the New York Marathon comes into mind again. There hasn't been much I haven't been able to do once I put my mind to it. And this is easy, right? Just one foot in front of the other... and watch out for the hills!

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