I’m Running a Marathon, Yup I’m That Nuts

In November I made a super secret declaration that only three people knew about. I decided that I was going to run a marathon before I was 30. Specifically I was going to shoot for the New York City Marathon in 2012 (two years from the day I decided to do it). I figure if I’m going to chase a goal that is, while not impossible, fairly unrealistic I might as well make it a big and flashy one so NYC here I come.

The marathon itself runs on a lottery system and it is very likely that I will not be running in 2012. However, if I don’t run that particular marathon it will not be for lack of training or ability. That means, on the day of the New York City Marathon I will be fully capable of completing it and completing it well. I’ll then pursue a different race and still achieve my goal of running a marathon before I’m 30 on May 23, 2013.

So why are you running a marathon to begin with jackass?

In a word: Fear.

I am simply terrified of running long distances. When I was a child I used to try and get out of running the mile in PE and, if I couldn’t, I would lose sleep the night before and not be able to concentrate in class because I was so nervous about running. I’m not sure exactly where this fear comes from. It might be that I was painfully aware that I was overweight from the time I was in 3rd grade and never could think of anything other than my physical inferiority. It could be that as a child you’re never taught the word “pace” so I would run all out and get tired quickly and the result was “running = discomfort.” I don’t know why but I’m freaked out by it.

I’m not sure this is entirely an irrational fear. Unless you’re one of my friends who run, you would be pretty freaked out if I told you that you had to run 26.2 miles tomorrow. It’s freaking scary!

So why a marathon? If you’re scared of heights you don’t take the stairs to the third floor – you jump out of an airplane. So that’s what I’m doing. I’m jumping out my 26.2 mile airplane.

I’m not adverse to hard work. I’ve been going to the gym Monday-Friday most years since I was 13. It’s just always been this running thing. The most I ever ran prior to deciding to run a marathon was about 3.4 miles during hell week when I played lacrosse in college. It sucked and I wanted to quit the team just so I wouldn’t have to do it again.

It hasn’t come easy physically either. After dropping 39 pounds in the first few months of 2010 I started running to try and get through a plateau. This resulted in a lot of back pain – the consequences of living for years with bad posture combined with a love for a full contact sport where I got to hit people (and be hit).

Since then I’ve spent months visiting a chiropractor weekly and completing exercises to rehab my back issues. On the day he said I could start running again the gears in my head started to crank. “Should I do this?” “Can I do this?”

So I’m going to do it. I’m baby stepping and already seeing tremendous progress (update coming soon). I’m far from my goal but I’m ahead of schedule and not as frightened anymore – which is a big win itself.