The Bench Press: Marathon #2

I've realized a significant life event was unaccounted for last month. Maybe it's because I blocked it out of my memory, or it could just be that life is busy. Maybe a little of both.

When my dad got back into running this summer he mentioned he wanted to do a race. Silly me thought he was talking about a 5k, possibly a 10k if he was feeling ambitious. I suggested running a 5k together when we went out to Utah for Nate's wedding. It was then that I was informed the race he had in mind was a marathon. I wished him luck, gave him a pep talk, and went on my merry way. A few days later he called to tell me he'd signed up for the Tri State Marathon. Once again, I wished him luck and thought he was a little bit crazy for wanting to do a marathon with such a short training window. The next day I got a phone call from Dad asking if I wanted to run it with him. I was torn. How cool is it to run a marathon with your dad? Not many people can say that. However, I was in the worst running shape I'd been in for years. Between my year of strep throat and getting my tonsils out, short runs were much more comfortable that long runs for me. Of course I said yes.

To make a long story short training didn't go as smoothly as either of us had hoped. Neither of us felt as prepared as we would have liked and yet there we were at the starting line on race day. I ran the first three miles with my dad and then I said I'll see you when I see you. Apparently he thought I might run a little longer with him. Sorry Dad. The first 13 miles were awesome. Jeannie volunteered during the race so I got to give her a hug at mile 9. Things were going great! It was downhill and I was running fast. Then it started to be not as fun, especially when the hills started, and by mile 20 my stomach was hurting and all the fun was gone. Jeannie was done with her volunteer duties by then and was driving back and forth between my dad and me checking up on us. I just about climbed in her car and called it quits. I stopped for quite a while and sat down. I called Jared and he gave me a good pep talk. After much debate and anguish, I decided to run one more mile, then call it quits if I wanted to. However, I knew if I ran one more I might as well run 5 after that. It took forever to finish. Mom and dad (he made it between mile 20-21) would wait for me at the top of each hill those last few miles with water and cheered me on.

I finally finished. It was quite painful, but I learned a few things along the way. #1-take the proper amount of time to train. #2 carry water. #3 when the opportunity comes to do a once in a lifetime race, do it!

Hopefully in a couple of years my dad and I can actually train properly for a marathon and have another go at it.