At Its Best

At its best, a marathon is a transcendent experience.

It almost always leaves me thinking, “Again, again!” Just like when I was a little kid coming off a favorite carnival ride. Only a marathon is even better.

I could list a number of reasons I find the marathon experience compelling, but I suspect they all have to do with being taken out of myself—removed from my normal routine and surroundings, freed temporarily from many of my chronic concerns, liberated to an extent by the extreme nature of the task at hand.

It is in this place away from myself that I come to myself, that I see things for a moment the way they really are.

At its best, a marathon is a spiritual experience. I am completely alone, because no one else can finish the race for me, and yet I am not alone. I feel connections that elude me under more routine circumstances. The world around me seems different. The very air is changed.

In a marathon, I am part of a whole group of runners. I have conversations with complete strangers about running shoes and the quantity of port-a-potties at the start line for Boston. In Kiawah, I watched a prerace yoga-style warm up. I didn’t join in, because I had to photograph it instead. It was beautiful.

I am a few days out from Kiawah, and I am thinking, “Again, again!”

Just To Finish

My sore leg and I both made it across the finish line at the Kiawah Island Marathon. I blamed my leg pain for making me go slower--but without the usual pressure to keep up the pace, I stayed relaxed and enjoyed the run. So maybe this sore leg isn't such a drag after all.

And when my leg no longer needs to be dragged around, I'm gonna feel like I'm flying!

Healing Power of Poetry?

My leg is large …

Well, EXTRA large—

The miles are many.

Chantal and I

Both face a journey.

With Diet Pepsi, Dr. Pepper,

Triple A (not “AA,” remember),

Some aspirin, chewing gum, ibuprofen,

Cell phone, camera … no iPod (stolen).

I’ll try, I’ll go, I’ll drive, I’ll run.

Who knows? Maybe I’ll even have some fun.

My pal Chantal has also been training for Kiawah

Oh, Kiawah

This week I’ve been fighting a sore leg and unusual fatigue. Imagine me fighting with my leg—it is not pretty. But once again, the body proves itself miraculous. Even after I abused my leg repeatedly by forcing it on through pain, it began to mend.

In the meantime, I found myself running at odd times, never knowing exactly how long or how far I could go. I recall mentioning earlier this year that Anderson Cooper was there for me during an off-schedule run. Hey, that guy was there for me again, talking to people who wash their clothes in the shower to save money. (It was his afternoon show this time, not his more Channel One adventurer-esque AC360 on CNN.) I wonder if the shower wash is worth it … but more importantly, I wonder why strawberry Powerade Zero is so hard to come by. It’s my favorite Powerade flavor.

Next weekend it’s on to Kiawah, the last best LAST marathon hope of 2012.

Looking Forward

I am excited to add a new marathon to my calendar, the Kiawah Island Marathon in South Carolina on December 8.

Not so far away, I have the Hamptons Marathon coming at the end of September, and it is the season to look ahead to next year. I hope to register for the 2013 Boston Marathon, and more than that, I hope to run it! I registered for the 2009 Boston Marathon but had to miss it because of a stress fracture. This time I don't want a certificate from the Boston Athletic Association informing me that I did not finish the race!

But for now, it looks as though I will be taking a brief time out. Sometimes circumstances invite a period of reassessment. I generally prefer to assess things on the treadmill or on the pavement. When that doesn't fix everything, I've got a problem. It's time to allow in some outside perspective.

Several years ago, in a similar situation, I found the phrase "I'll Keep Running" in a magazine ad, and I cut it out and pasted it onto the notebook I was using daily. It was more a dream than a certainty, but it came true: I had many races in my future, along beautiful courses in interesting locations, moments of feeling like I was flying, finish times I hadn't believed were possible for me. So I will look forward again and dream of races to come—some already scheduled and some not yet thought of. I can't always see what's ahead on the course. I'll take a few more steps and watch as the view opens up.