from mile to marathon

The journey of a thousand leagues begins from beneath your feet.
Lao-Tzu

Monday, February 04, 2008

spontaneity

I did not mean to end my last entry by saying I am marathon runner. It just came out this way. Sometimes the opposite comes out, and it's meaningful too.

Two weeks ago I got sick and any shred of motivation I still had at the time burnt up in fever. The illness itself (a bronchial inflammation of some kind)was not that bad - I spent three or four days in bed, and read a half dozen books. But I got completely alienated from running, a zombie kind of endeavor, senseless, and going nowhere.

Fever and all, I had to keep an appointment, so my boyfriend gave me a ride. Driving west on Alameda street I thought back at the New Mexico Plus Marathon in September. This was mile 17 or 18 or thereabouts, and at this point I was dragging myself through the heat, half stumbling, half walking, as I would for the next five or six miles, possessed by the inexplicable.

My boyfriend glanced at me. "Does it bring back memories?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about that," I said. "Was I crazy?"

I doubted I would ever put on running shoes again.

6 Comments:

At 7:08 AM, Blogger JustRun said...

Funny what we do in spite of memories. Or maybe it's because of them.

 
At 6:26 PM, Blogger Darrell said...

Hmmmm, I wonder.

 
At 8:58 PM, Blogger Journey to a Centum said...

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt

The first comment I left on one of your posts before you had completed your first marathon I called you marathon girl. I remember the excitement I felt from your reply to that tag. You are a marathon runner. You are one of a small population in the world who knows they can do 26.2.

It's not about how many marathons you run in a week, month, year, or lifetime. It's about how much fun you are having. Running is just one activity that people can pour their passion into. Hiking, climbing, XC Skiing, Downhill Skiing, Snowboarding, Ping Pong.. The list goes on. Stay active and stay happy! If you need to "diversify".

Run Strong!

Eric

 
At 3:51 AM, Blogger RunBubbaRun said...

I think doing other things to keep fresh and not so burned is so important.

There are alot of thing to do out there. Running a marathon does not make you a runner. Sounds like you need a big break.

Maybe you will want to run again, if not, just being physically active is more important than anything else.

 
At 10:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The suspense is killing me. Will she or won't she? :) Memories can change your heart or reinforce a decision.

 
At 7:27 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

You keep leaving these nail biters...What will you do?

 

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