Today, I am 50. The good news is that I don't feel a day over 47, so I'm doing well.
Ha! Kidding. I feel about 27 with some strange joint aches and really crappy vision. And two kids.
To celebrate reaching this astonishing age, I would have liked to have a huge party with all of my friends in our beautiful new house on the farm. But I haven't had time to catch up with old friends, let alone make new ones, and as the "beautiful new house on the farm" is a couple of years away, the party would basically have been me and Jeff roasting hot dogs over a fire on the hill. Having the local Fire Department along later in the evening would still not make it the Best! 50th! Ever!
Instead, I decided to run a marathon: a full 26.2 mile, out-of-doors genuine marathon, scheduled practically in my back yard, two days after my 50th birthday.
The decision process was a tortured one, as you might expect for someone deciding to embark upon a painful physical activity as a way to celebrate moving ever closer to that last circle around the drain.
Several months back when we were still in Europe, Jeff casually remarked that as half marathons were so easy for me now (and they are, no kidding), maybe I should set my sights higher and run a full. I can still feel the residue of the indignation I felt at that. What the heck!? Just because something becomes easy doesn't mean it isn't fun any more! Or challenging! I really love being able to run 13 miles at the drop of a hat. It doesn't define me, per se. I always hedge when people ask me if I am a "runner." No, not really, "a runner," but I do run very slow half marathons, frequently.
Jeff didn't mean it in any kind of a mean spirited way, he was just suggesting that if I wanted to, I could probably run a real marathon without too much trouble.
When I simmered down, I realized he had a point. I really could run a marathon if I wanted to. I have a solid base, so the "training" would only be an incremental eight weeks or so of ever increasing longer runs over what I usually do.
Still in Europe, I checked the local fall running calendar in our soon-to-be-new area, and discovered the aforementioned fact that there would be a full marathon two days after my birthday, twenty minutes from our new house. Irresistible.
I kept quiet about for for several weeks. I printed out a marathon training schedule, checked to be sure I was on track with mileage, and started to follow it. When I was pretty sure the training schedule was reasonable and I could manage it, I mentioned the idea of a marathon to Jeff. I was actually important to get him on board, as we were talking about the weekend of my 50th birthday. He had made passing mentioned of Iceland,for the love of Pete, so if "I" was going to do this, "we" needed to know about it.
Given that my birthday falls in early September, though, and the first weekend after school started, it did not seem fair to me to plan to be away. The children were going to be tired and potentially shell shocked, and at the end of the day, being able to run 26 miles seemed like it would be a better "I'm 50!" statement than soaking in random geo-thermal pools.
I may still regret this decision, but let's try to be positive, shall we?
The basic kit: 1. Technical shirt from Prague marathon, my Half Personal Best, meant to inspire me to be fleet of foot. 2. Sports bra with padding, to prevent the unattractive "headlamp" look. Ick. 3. Compression Socks. The Cool Kids wear Pro Compression, which cost fifty bucks on Amazon (link: no affiliation, so click away, there's nothing in it for me: click). I wear these awesome Old Lady Compression socks that I paid $12 for on sierratradingpost.com. I look like a dork, but I honestly don't think I'd look that much less dorky in the $50 version. 4. Skort to prevent the dreaded camel toe.
In typical fashion, I stuck to the training schedule like glue. Until I got busy. Having back to back houseguests for two months as you are trying to move yourself from one continent to another is not for the faint of heart. While I managed to keep all of the balls in the air, seemingly most houseguests had a pretty good time, and we did manage the move, the running thing fell apart. I did fine up until those last two weeks.
Unfortunately, my languor lasted at least another two weeks upon arrival in the US. I had an outdoor pool, and indoor treadmill and an entire new country to explore, but "running" took a serious back seat to shifting the children to the myriad of camps they were attending, racing between house and farm, and desperately trying to orient myself and upack the house. Neither of which, months later, have actually happened.
I hadn't told many people about my presumed goal, so it wasn't going to be a massive loss of face if I didn't run. I hadn't even formally signed up for the event, so it wasn't like I was going to lose my hundred bucks if I didn't show up. It just felt as though I was copping out. It was hard to run, I was busy, I didn't really have time.
The Extended, I've Been Doing This A While Now, Kit: 1. Cool Dude Head Rag: I may or may not actually wear this race day, because, it really does make me look like a total dork, but it's meant to wick away sweat. I wear them under helmets (biking, riding, and potentially some day skiing), so some day in the future, I'll do a review of them. They are handy, and not too dear on Amazon. 2. Body Glide, so proper supportive undergarments and running skort do not result in, *ahem* chaffing. Plus, use on feet to reduce blisters. Plus, remember to trim toenails. Trim 'em, or lose, 'em! 3. Waist belt: most proper serious runners go as light as they can. I prefer to have my stuff with me. Forgotten in the photo are my "running gels" which go into the waist pack. I'm bringing 3, and plan to use one at the start, at the half way point, and then again at 20 miles. If you don't eat during the race, you will bonk, for sure. 4. I *love* my Yur Buds! Expensive, but worth it. They stay in my ears, vs every other ear bud I have ever tried, with fall out (expensive, like $30 expensive). 5. I will also run with my iPhone, which proper runners would never do: too heavy. They use Garmins to track time and distance. I use my phone to listen to music and I'll be taking photos along the way. Hey, I'm in it for the experience, not to pass myself off as a proper runner. I bought this arm band from Ebay probably four years ago for five bucks. In rain storm, it's not going to protect the phone, but otherwise it seems to work just fine.
And then one afternoon it hit me: I was going to skip doing something in my heart I really wanted to do because I was too lazy to get my act together and just freaking run.
So, got up at dawn and ran. And did the same the next day. I printed out my training schedule and posted it on the fridge and ran some more. I hadn't lost as much time as someone starting fresh, because I had such a solid base, and I picked it up like I had never stopped. I ran in the pool, I ran on the treadmill, I ran every mile on that stupid chart in some form or another. I ran the 14 mile long run, I ran the 18 mile long run, and despite putting it off until past the last possible minute, I ran the 20 mile long run on a treadmill. I probably would have succumbed to boredom, but I could definitely have run another 6 miles.
So, I'm ready.
The risk of injury is of course high. I could twist an ankle at mile marker 6 and be done. I could end up with severe cramps and have to quit. The run is in early September, so it could be hot enough that slow runners like me will end up running when it is way too hot out, and heat prostration is no fun. But I am going to give it my best shot to finish. I'm hoping for a 4 hour, 30 minute run, so pretty slow, but not anywhere near the sweep time of 6 hours. And if it takes me longer than 4 hours and 30 minutes, so long as it doesn't take me 6 hours, who cares?
Wish me luck!
1) Can your legions of fans follow the split times & results online anywhere?
2) Big, huge, enormous house-warming party. Someday. We can wait.
Posted by: Rodneyssaga | September 05, 2014 at 04:38 PM