Yesterday I went to the Chicago Marathon. It brought back the blissful memory of my own marathon experience years back with two good friends of mine.
So we go to watch my friend's co-worker run the race. We told her we would run a couple miles in support and good cheer. At mile 16, she passes by and we jump in along side of her.
I will say, the heat was beating down and it was a hard day for a long run. We ended up running nine miles with this friend. She was tired and needed some extra support.
As I ran among these packs of people, although a fraud in the race, I couldn't help but feel motivated by the spirit of it all. The feeling of doing something monumental, challenging, even a little crazy.
Until I looked around.
All around me people were walking and walking....
....
and walking.
Some were walking so much they weren't even breaking a sweat anymore. Then I began to notice the people who were trying to keep up their pace. They were staggering in and out trying to get past the walkers. What startled me more was that some people were wearing those pace signs on the back of their shirts. You know those signs that tell you 4:45 in order to re-assure runners, in moments of (near) insanity, that yes, yes you are on pace and will maybe, just maybe make your goal. Seeing these pacer runners ahead of you keeps one focused on the prize ahead. Right?
Well sometimes.
What I saw instead, in many cases, was that the 4:00, 4:45, even 5:30 pacers were ALL TOGETHER!?
sigh.
I couldn't help but think about this whole marathon business. Is it getting out of hand? I am not your worlds fastest runner, at all, and yes people my legs hurt today. After nine miles (spontaneous however). BUT. When I ran the marathon I trained...for five months. I didn't walk. At all. Did I qualify for Boston, no.
But that is not my point.
My point is, is this marathon getting out of hand? Is it a lofty goal that everyone puts on their life to do check list so they can say they did it? It seems to me a marathon is becoming something everyone feels they have to do, like going to prom.
Or maybe-if they don't-they will really, really regret it. But is it for everyone?
At one point, my roommate and I thought...Should there be a walking lane at the marathon? Would this help the chaotic mess of 40,000 people running 26.2 miles?
But then I thought,
It is a marathon.
Train and Run. And those who WEAR pacers...well for the love of God, keep the pace.
I can't help but think many of the 40,000 out there slacked on their week day work outs, never completed that 20 mile run before tapering, or worse yet, maybe drank a little too much the night before. I think simply if you are going to run the marathon know what you are getting yourself into. Because the fact is, there is no walking lane, and yes, there are other runners trying to get by.
1 comment:
Absolutely agreed. It's a mental race. If you haven't worked on your mental ability to overcome the fact it's "hard" and you want to walk, you shouldn't be there. It makes me really think about Suzie Orman and how she talks about Americans needing to be honest with our financial status. It's the same thing. Please be honest with your ability to RUN a marathon. And, in fact, even your health status. Are you really going to tell people you RAN a marathon when you walked? Let's get real. We need to learn to be honest with ourselves and set realistic goals.
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