It’s better than a mass e-mail

Everyday, I usually get an e-mail or two from the blog program asking me to approve or spam a comment. Usually it’s spam, so I’ll just go in and clean house, deleting all the pending comments that are inevitably spam.

But lo and behold, I just got a comment (yahoo Maggie!). Just as I was about to click “spam,” I looked closer and realized it was a real live comment. I just  might have a reader or two here.

Not that I have been giving them anything to read lately. Hence, this post.

I drunkenly signed up for a marathon this fall. Let me first explain the “drunkenly” part. One night a couple months ago, we had some friends over for dinner and partook in a few glasses of wine. As the red wine was flowing, we got to talking about running and races. A friend of mine competed in triathlons and had started running again. Somehow – and this part is a bit fuzzy – I became the topic of conversation and was being pressured into signing up for a marathon. I guess it had been in the back of my mind for a while, so it didn’t take too much to be pushed into the idea.”Come on Sara, just do it. If you can run a half, you can do a full.” “If you sign up, you’ll have to start training.” “What are you waiting for, you pansy-ass sack of shit?”

Before I knew it, I had my credit card in hand and was signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon Nov. 22.

So I have since pored over every single marathon training plan known to man and available online. I have scoured the Runner’s World site for their Smart Coach training plan, tips, gadgets, advice. This weekend, I bought a gear belt – a ridiculously cumbersome and bulbous Velcro belt that holds up to four small water bottles and a couple of those nasty gel packs that I guess I will need to start using.

I am up to 8  miles on my long weekend runs and this weekend’s run was spectacular. Don’t get me wrong: running for the most part totally sucks and is painful and boring. But something about it… I ran the half marathon last year as a part of my new thing where I set goals and achieve them. That’s at the heart of this, I think. I am setting this goal that is tangible and perhaps achievable with a great deal of work. I have something to work toward. The act of running itself hasn’t entirely endeared itself to me yet (I still haven’t gotten to that point where I hit a stride and zone out and daydream and before I know have covered 10 miles… Does that really happen?). Maybe it will. Or maybe this will be more about the journey and reaching the goal. Either way, after running for 8 miles – and one day, 13, 18, 26…) I feel amazing – tired yet energized – and can basically eat whatever I want for the rest of the day.

p.s. I promise to write more. Really this time.

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