Monday, April 19, 2010

Marathon Monday - Dreams to Pursue

Marathon Monday - a day that is heavily celebrated in Massachusetts every third Monday of April. Most college students drink all day, stumble down the streets and cheer for the runners as they slur, "You're almost there!" It's not something I'm into - the drinking that is.

The Boston Marathon is something that is admirable. For the last two years I have spent part of my day out on the streets cheering for the people that I can't help but look up to. Each person that runs the marathon has traveled through life and decided to prepare themselves for a 26.2 miles run.

Last year I said, "I want to do the Boston Marathon." I felt a passion, an excitement but I was clueless how to go about it. Today, again, I said "I want to do the Boston Marathon." It's an exciting proposition.

In order to actually be eligible I a) must run a marathon in 3hours 15minutes or b) commit to raising a certain amount of money for a charity. I really think that option b is my most viable path to the marathon, but I want to know that I can challenge myself to complete the course. It's not just important to commit to raising enough money for an organization, but for every dollar that is raised, to commit to finishing the race.

By no means do I expect to win the race, but I plan on making it across the finish line.

My thought is... this summer I can train. Now, this is the area I get stuck. How does one train for such a long run? I naturally am not a long-distance runner - or maybe I am? I know that I love running and I know that I can run well, but 26.2 miles scares me. Up until last summer I had never run more than 2.5 miles in one run. Emily, one of my best friends, introduced me to a run around the Charles River that totaled 4-6 miles, depending on our actual path that day. But that was an accomplishment. The first time I ran it, I did not think I was going to make it - but I survived, and boy did I feel good.

I want to feel that challenge again.

Perhaps the motivation I need is to share my story. If I do this, I want to raise the money for cancer research and treatment. At this point, I don't know if the American Cancer Society is on the charitable organization list (but I'm sure it is).

Perhaps the motivation I need is my mother and grandfather - they can be the guiding light that I need to run up the Newton Hills and run along a crowd of people that I'm sure will be passing me and challenging me. I know that toward the end I'll have the support of my school, Boston University, because we surround Kenmore Square - one mile from the finish line in Copley Square.

I really want to commit, and I think the first step is talking to my doctor/s about the possibility. I need to see a nutritionist and find out what I really should be eating to keep me healthy.

It is a possibility that I may start a video blog to document my journey. It would make it easier to take everyone along the journey with me, to keep in contact, and for me to track my progress.

This week I will talk with a few people to see how they think I should go about it - to ask if they think I can do it - to ask for their support. I know that this will be a challenge, and I know that there will be days I will want to quit, but if you have a support base, you can do anything.

1 comment:

  1. not to be creepy, but I just read your post and I wanted to tell you that last year while watching the marathon I had the same thought. I spent last summer training and in November I ran the NYC Marathon. It was the best day of my life and i highly recommend you do it!! I wasnt fast enough to qualify for boston, but I will!!
    If you want to talk about marathon training or anything, let me know! You can definitely do it!

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