Roughly, six years ago I ran my first official race. I had been running for about three or four months and a couple people asked me, "Are you running Brian's Run?" I accepted this as fate considering the short timespan of the inquiries and registered. Needless to say, I was nervous and intimidated and lined up in the back with the "walkers". This was a God-send because it allowed me to build confidence. As I passed people, I felt better and ran harder. This was my first lesson that running was more mental than physical. A cheap mind trick but it worked. To this day, I still tend to line up a little beyond my actual ability.
So we were off and running. I loved it but my fear held me back. I didn't want to walk, gassed out, looking like the rookie that I was. I held my conservative pace until the last half mile. Secure with the knowledge that I was "right around the corner", I opened and flew. I blew the doors off of people. One guy commented outloud, "Damn, the dude in the knit hat (me) is flying!" I loved it. Turning the second to last turn, I saw my family cheering me on. I have no recall of the actual finish line, I just remember seeing my wife, Mother-in-Law, and two small children. It was amazing.
Shortly after this I called my father, a retired Colonel in the Marine Corps. As a father would do, he praised and the gave a subtle challenge, "If
you ever think of doing a marathon, think of the Marine Corps Marathon... it's really well organized." I wasn't really looking at doing a marathon, even a well organized one but I entered the MCM lottery and got in.
That was the first of five marathons.
Today, I completed another Brian's Run. This run has again become the catalyst for another marathon.
After my last marathon in 2006, I promised myself that and my wife that I would not do another marathon until she had completed her Doctorate. I had felt guilty of being selfish and taking too much time for personal pursuits resulting in time lost in family time.
The time away from running was nice but as a runner I lost my focus. I missed the schedule and final goal.
This past Friday my amazing wife successfully defended her dissertation. Late that night I was still basking in the pride that I have for her and happened to open the new Runners World magazine. The first page that I opened to was a picture of the Steamtown Marathon... it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
So today as I ran with my buddy and The Chicken to the start of Brian's Run. We talked about old marathons, Brian's Run, and ...Steamtown.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
