carboload - carboload - carboload
Only six days left until the big day, the ATT Austin Marathon. The day that has been stuck in my head for 25 weeks, February 18, 2007. This is a day that I will probably always remember. My first marathon. My first marathon experience.
On Thursday, August 17, 2006, shortly after I began working at the Statesman, I read an article in the paper about how the previous Freescale marathon was changing sponsors. ATT was going to take over the main sponsorship, and the race course might change. I was excited about the 10,000 entrants, which made this marathon the 15th most popoular in the nation. A website for the marathon was tacked on to the end of the short, seemingly inconsequential article. It was certainly the tiny push that I needed to check out the lore around marathon training and running. I began my search that day for a marathon training group. I had decided by the end of that day, August 17, 2006, that I would be training for 25 weeks with AustinFit marathon training group for the marathon that is coming up, now only 6 days away.
That decisive, self-assured move that I made that day, to sign up to run, to join AustinFit, has since changed my life in a huge way. Running long distances like I had never ran before has changed my perspective on my body. I realize now that the human body is capable of so much more than we know. I realize now that the human spirit and mind, specifically my human spirit and mind, is stronger than I ever realized. This realization, which I came upon after a recovering from injury mid-season and after a 22 mile training run just two weeks ago will culminate and consume my mind and body at the end of the race on February 18, 2007. This weekend.
Someone close to me said to me the other day that he "hadn't even seen how strong I was yet" within the duration of our relationship. He then added that on race day, when I complete my 26.2 miles, he was sure that he would see how strong I was. I never thought of it that way, though. I never thought of completing the marathon to show other people how strong I was. I always framed it in terms of proving my strength to myself. And that I will.
See those legs? They will carry me.
Current book I'm reading: The one I'm writing about my life as a runner.
Current song stuck in my head: Peter Gabriel's "Games without Frontiers"
On Thursday, August 17, 2006, shortly after I began working at the Statesman, I read an article in the paper about how the previous Freescale marathon was changing sponsors. ATT was going to take over the main sponsorship, and the race course might change. I was excited about the 10,000 entrants, which made this marathon the 15th most popoular in the nation. A website for the marathon was tacked on to the end of the short, seemingly inconsequential article. It was certainly the tiny push that I needed to check out the lore around marathon training and running. I began my search that day for a marathon training group. I had decided by the end of that day, August 17, 2006, that I would be training for 25 weeks with AustinFit marathon training group for the marathon that is coming up, now only 6 days away.
That decisive, self-assured move that I made that day, to sign up to run, to join AustinFit, has since changed my life in a huge way. Running long distances like I had never ran before has changed my perspective on my body. I realize now that the human body is capable of so much more than we know. I realize now that the human spirit and mind, specifically my human spirit and mind, is stronger than I ever realized. This realization, which I came upon after a recovering from injury mid-season and after a 22 mile training run just two weeks ago will culminate and consume my mind and body at the end of the race on February 18, 2007. This weekend.
Someone close to me said to me the other day that he "hadn't even seen how strong I was yet" within the duration of our relationship. He then added that on race day, when I complete my 26.2 miles, he was sure that he would see how strong I was. I never thought of it that way, though. I never thought of completing the marathon to show other people how strong I was. I always framed it in terms of proving my strength to myself. And that I will.
See those legs? They will carry me.
Current book I'm reading: The one I'm writing about my life as a runner.
Current song stuck in my head: Peter Gabriel's "Games without Frontiers"
posted by Unknown @ 8:09 AM
1 Comments:
At 5:40 PM, February 16, 2007,
Unknown said…
i LOVELOVELOVE this blog!!!
i am so excited for you. and i relate to it on a very deep level, as far as proving strength to yourself goes.
it's the most empowering thing in the world.
i love you.
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