The Story So Far

So let me bring you up to speed on the situation as it stands.

As I've mentioned already, and probably will mention again, a marathon is something I've always wanted to do. For some, that might seem like a strange and misguided goal. Why would you want to put yourself through this after all? It's not like you get paid for it (unless you're one of the genetic freaks of nature that actually makes a habit of winning these things).

There's obviously a lot of reasons people do train for and run them. Some run for a cause, others to lose weight, some to win a bet, and many just to say they did it. For me, I guess I always assumed I would run one. I was always fast, and my string bean frame was perfect for distance running. Like most idiot school/college kids though, it soon became more of a priority to drink beer, skip classes and sleep late and before I knew it, what I'd once considered an inevitability had seemed more and more distant, and, ultimately, was forgotten altogether.

I first resurrected the idea of running the big two-six a few years ago. I'd started running a little again and, though much heavier and slower, remembered my youthful idealism and signed up for the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon in March of oh-something, and the world famous Chicago Marathon in October. Unfortunately, shin splints put paid to both. As I would soon find out, I'd ramped up too quickly. My "long run" peaked at 9 miles before I was grounded. The long, cold winter didn't help me return to the roads either. Before I knew it, March came and went, and so did October. I deleted the promotional emails I'd been getting from the race committees that I'd once been so addicted to poring over. I stopped running, and didn't pick it up again with any regularity until earlier this year.

A quick aside.... I've lived in the US for 13+ years, but have only been in Kansas City for the last two or so. Due to a confluence of events, I'd found myself in the wide open nowhere of Western KS for over a decade. Races in the town I lived in were about as common as Egyptian pyramids, and the almost constantly swirling wind made running difficult and sometimes flat out unpleasant.

So, back to the story, now I'm in the city, and a few months ago, due largely to Jillzibit, I started running again. She was training for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and a week before the 5k, I agreed to run it with her, and signed up for what was, believe it or not, my first official "race" since high school, and I guess you could say I was hooked. A 4 miler at the KC Zoo, the Run For the Frogs followed, and upcoming on October 18th, I am running a 7 mile segment of the Kansas City Marathon relay, with three friends. I'll write about each at some point, but you can see where this is going.

Last week I started looking around for potential marathons, and quickly found the Arizona Rock n' Roll Marathon. From the timing, to the temperature, to the atmosphere, this seemed to fit all the things I was looking at for "my first time". 3 months isn't long, and there's a cold Kansas City winter ahead, but it's time I just did this thing, and even if the shin splints come back, the knees give out or the achilles tears, I won't regret trying.

Of course, ask me that again at mile 23 on race day and maybe I'll disagree... or swear at you perhaps.