And it's Marathon Season Again!

OK. Here is the deal. I am not the running expert! I am the running cheerleader. But I have had a new series of questions so I thought I would write another one of these. I am including the link to the original post and offering this year's perspective. If you never read the first one, start here;

http://cricketjohnson.blogspot.com/2008/05/marathon-season-anyone-can-do-it-speech.html

Let me start this year's speech by saying it's been a half-marathon year. I ran about a million half marathons, and no real marathons. I trained better and more consistently than I ever have and then I got home and stopped running (except for the San Antonio half) and have not really been running since. I am not great at this guys!

But here are my thoughts this year.

I absolutely love seeing the people that run marathons. They are normal people like you and me. They are tall and thin, they are bulky and awkward, they are strong, they are weak, they are normal, they are athletes, they are inspired, they are determined, they are scared, and they are brave. Marathoners are not super-heroes they are just people that tied their tennis shoes and put one foot in front of the other for six months before a race. They had terrible runs, they had incredible runs, they had breaks that lasted too long, and nights with too much wine. They are marathoners because they did the hard work, over time and it enabled them to do something that only 1% of the population will ever do in their life.

Their are no magic tricks and no super tips. Tie your shoes, set a two mile course. Run until you can't, then walk the rest. Repeat until you can run two miles. When you get your butt out of bed and run two miles consistently for a month, then download a running plan for beginners or join a training group. Work hard for 6 months, and then you, like 99% of the world will never do, will be able to run a marathon.

I need to tell you again. I am not a disciplined person. I am terrible at watching what I eat. I wear my running shoes too long because I don't want to spend the money to buy new ones. I hate running in the cold or in the rain... AND I LIVE IN BERLIN. I don't think I can run fast and I don't know how to train to run faster, I am scared to join a running group because what if I am not good enough or I can't understand them? But I want to qualify for the Boston this year... Guys, I AM SO LIKE YOU.

I go out for runs and I feel defeated. I have one good run and seven bad ones. But running has saved me. Running had kept 100 pounds off of my body. Running has given me a place to work out the hatred of my old job, the loss of Jeffrey, a broken heart, my move to Berlin, loneliness, fear, homesickness, and now trying to figure out if I am staying. I have run on four continents, and I have had the honor and privilege of praying for the people there. I have run long enough that just finishing seems a bit like it's not the same accomplishment as it was the first few times. I never ever dreamed that I would feel that way and am nervous even typing it now...

And these are the thoughts of someone who has finished a handful of races. YOU CAN DO IT. I promise, you can run a marathon. If you don't believe it, IT IS A LIE. Marathons are full of every day men and women with love handles and chaffing thighs. They are full of men and women who will finish the race and still have pounds that they need to shed. They are filled with men and women that fit their runs into impossible schedules filled with work, school, children and travel. They are filled with men and women who do not see themselves as runners, but more like joggers or as Jamie and I liked to call ourselves in the last marathon I ran in Austin - jalkers. They are simply people who set a goal, and shed blood, sweat and tears to accomplish it. They are people who were carried by the cheers of their friends and family, by the stories of the men and women running around them, or by the ones that they were running for.

Marathoners are not heroes, they are normal people who have had the opportunity to do an extraordinary thing. Marathoners are people who would give up if they weren't packed tightly into a herd of hundreds or thousands of other people reminding them that they could do it. I am reminded of the woman that ran next to me my entire first marathon who was wearing a shirt that said, "Today is my 70th birthday and this is my 7th marathon." Or the guy my second marathon that ran up to me at mile 17 when I wanted to walk and said, "Keep running, you're doing great.", and then stopped to tell me congratulations at the end. I am reminded of the woman that ran for her father who was suffering from cancer, she had his picture on her shirt. Her children and husband and mom were there every few miles with balloons and signs, and then we turned the corner of the end of mile 25 and her husband was waiting with her father who came in and shuffled as far as he could with her. The heroes are the people who inspire us to run or that we run for. I think of my Uncle who ran for one of his childhood friends after September 11th... I can never look at the pictures of him from that race without seeing the black and white picture of his friend pinned to the arm of his shirt without crying. I think of my Aunt who is my inspiration for running, and life. How I never would have run if it wasn't for her and how shocked she and my uncle would be if they really understood how much of my running is a result of their belief in me, and how much the things they have taught me about running or inspirational things they have said to me play in my head EVERY run. They are my heroes.

So, if you are thinking about running a 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon or a Marathon... Confucius told us that "The journey of a thousand miles began with a single step." Don't think about the 26th mile, just take your first step... and then take the one after that... and eventually you will look up and see a finish line in front of you.

If there is anything that I could try to convey to you, it is that I promise you I never thought I would be this person. Writing these things or dreaming of the Boston. But if I hadn't gone out and tried to complete 2 miles, I would have never known I could do it. TWO MILES, I didn't know I could run two miles - they might as well have been 1000! And that girl has had the honor of running races all over the world! Give it a shot... you, like me, just might surprise yourself.

And don't forget... I believe in you.