Marathon Man

Life has been interesting for me as of late. My writing has been ridiculously behind schedule. My editing for NerdSpan.com has been a lot of fun and at least gives me the opportunity to be a little creative. Then there is my running. I successfully ran a half-marathon in November and then got all crazy on myself. I signed up for the LA Marathon.

I really don’t know what I was thinking. 26.2 miles is a very long run. I was overcome with the desire to challenge myself. To try something I didn’t ever think I could do. Let’s face it here. I have bad knees and a bad back. Every time I run it is a balancing act of running, form, and pain awareness. I actually feel pretty good on most runs. Every so often my back or knees flare up. This is my biggest fear. What if they flare up during my run?

I did a 16 mile run last week to see what issues I would have on a longer run. The first 15 miles went relatively well but I hit a huge wall in mile 16. I could have probably gone four more but then I would have been done. I realized I wasn’t hydrating or fueling my body right during the run. I was also pretty sure my shoes were wrong. I immediately went into the shoe store and had them look at me. I apparently was running with a pronation on my inside foot. I am hoping this corrects my foot soreness.

I am now two weeks away from the marathon and I am a little scared. My brain goes through moments of total confidence and absolute terror. I know once I get running the terror will go away. The rest will be endurance. I ran 150 miles in February so I know I have the strength.

I can’t wait until it is over. The thought of crossing the finish line exhilarates me. It will be a great moment in my life. Then it will be onto the next challenge. Finishing my next book would be a good one.