A Marathon of Lessons

My beautiful and fast running friends

I just finished my 11th marathon. 11! And I have a secret admission, one that most people won't believe, but is still true.

Before the race

I don't love running.

There. I said it. My running friends are probably all shouting at the top of their lungs right now, "What?!?! How could you even say such a thing?"

So why then do I run through pregnancies, choose to do all the races, get up early most days of the week, never sleep in on Saturdays, and drive hundreds of miles to run another 26.2?

My first response after reading that last paragraph is to say that I must be a little crazy (which is probably true). My next response is that I want to keep off the pounds and be fit for my family. That may also be true, but it's not the REAL reason. The true reason that I run is because of the lessons I learn along the way.

As many of you know, I like to write an inspirational word on my arm before I do a long run. When you run for long distances, you are tested in physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual ways. I like to use these words to help me focus on what is important to me at that moment and maybe what I want to work on - as a runner and as a person.

For this marathon, I couldn't decide on just one word, so I chose two.

Why fly? 

For this marathon, I decided to focus on the scriptures. I wanted a word that would help me feel light when my legs felt heavy. It comes from this scripture: ". . . yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind" (Psalms 18:10). The rest of the chapter is amazing. It focuses on the Lord being my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength. During marathons and life, I need Him to help me when I'm feeling down, to lift me up and help me fly.

What about finisher? 

I chose it for a couple reasons. One, I wanted the reminder throughout the race that I finish what I start. My second reason is the scripture that inspired the word: 

". . . let us lay aside every weight . . . and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross . . ." (Hebrews 12) 

I feel like this marathon was a big test for me - I had a painful running injury the entire time I trained (hamstring tear and adhesions). On our way to St. George, we were in a car accident (rear-ended) that hurt my neck and head a bit (nothing serious, but not fun). Then, during the marathon, along with my hamstring tear, around mile 20, I got a horrible side-ache that made it impossible to run for about 2 miles, slowing my time down considerably. BUT, I tried to focus on my words. The word finisher really stuck out to me while I was in pain. I remembered the scripture and thought about what Christ endured. I will never suffer as much as He did and He did it for me. For me! I realized that I need to rely more on Him in hard times, not just during a race, but when things are tough with kids and work and money and just life in general. 

Running will always be hard for me. It just will. But I'm not going to stop because it teaches me. Every marathon I learn another lesson that strengthens who I am and who I want to become.

My sister and niece came to support my brother-in-law and I.

My brother-in-law came up from AZ to run the race.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I admit it.  I'm not the fastest at anything.  I'm not the slowest either, but that's beside the point. The point is that I am perfectly happy at being the turtle, enjoying everything and appreciating the good when it comes my way.  I feel fulfilled.

That being said, I ran a marathon on Saturday. My 10th!

I trained for months, got up early every Saturday to get in the "long run." I cross trained with swimming and biking. I lifted weights and stretched. And, of course, I still got the dreaded overuse injury, plantar fasciitis, in my foot. I'm giving you the background because when you say you've run a marathon to people that haven't done it, I think maybe they don't entirely understand the back story that gets everyone to that 26.2.

It's kind of like your wedding day. You plan it out for months in advance, choose locations, start working out harder to look fabulous, get invites ready, dress shopping, hair appointments, reception plans, honeymoon, and don't forget the DRESS. You do all of this and the actual event is usually just a few hours. Not that marathons and weddings have that much in common except both gave me blisters on my feet, but they are both big deals. Get it?

All of my friends PR'd (got their personal best times) on this marathon. I am so proud of them! With circumstances being beyond my control, this year my mantra was "finish strong." And I did. Yay me!

I started off strong too. At mile 8, I had to remind myself that I paid $80 to run it. At mile 11, when I saw a younger runner bawling like a baby while leaning against the first aid vehicle, unable to go on, I felt her pain and wanted to give up too.  At mile 13, I noticed that everyone that I ran next to had that same despondent look on their faces, the look that said, "We're only halfway?!?" and in my mind I was saying, "I really want that medal at the end!"  At mile 18, I thought, "I can do this, but it really hurts."  At mile 20, "You can't stop now!"  And eventually I made it to the last 3 miles where cheering crowds kept me moving.  A few running friends came by around mile 25 and pushed me to the end. Then I bawled too.  Only for like 5 seconds and then I was good.

 

Right after the race - I'm still standing!

 

When my son saw me after the race with my medal and asked, "So did you win, Mom?" I smiled and answered truthfully, "Yes. Yes I did."  I've read The Tortoise and the Hare and we all know how that race turned out.  I'm happy to say that I'm the good ol' tortoise.

Fierce Reads Tour - A Win-Win

I never win anything.  Lots of people say it, but I'm overly unlucky. Really.  I'll never win the lottery (though that somewhat makes sense because I never buy a ticket).  I've never really won a raffle, drawing, or contest where chance is involved.  You know those sports games where the t-shirt is thrown to the crowd.  If you want to catch one, you should stand right next to me because chances are, it will hit me in the head and bounce right into your hands.  This has happened to me not once, but twice. 

So you can see that it came as a complete surprise last month when I "won" a spot in the lottery for the St.George Marathon 2012.  Now you non-runners out there are probably thinking, "Why is getting into a marathon considered a winning situation?" Think of it as the Superbowl for runners.  But for those avid marathoners out there, getting into the St. George Marathon is like getting the invite to walk (I mean, run) the red carpet.  Yeah, it's that cool.  I'll admit that I have mixed feelings about this "win". I mean it's twenty-six point freaking two miles.   But since I have tried to get into this marathon three times before and lost, I was happy to break my unlucky streak.


Running the Ogden Marathon 4 weeks ago

It turns out, my luck may be doing an about face permanently.  I recently had the opportunity to join some friends in attending the Fierce Reads Tour at their stop at Provo Library.  Don't worry, I didn't know what it was before I went either.  Basically, it's a book tour for Macmillan's new debut Young Adult authors (I'll post more on them later).  At the end of the night, they announced there was a giveaway.  I was about ready to get up and leave.  Why wait for the disappointment, right?  I decided to check under my chair anyway, and, lo and behold, I'd won a book!  And not just any book, but a book I've had on my Good Reads list for several months: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 

Here's all the authors that attended:

So it's true I may never win an IPad or a new car, but I'm starting to feel little Irish.  Maybe I'll go to a BYU basketball game soon (but I'll wear a helmet, just in case).