Archives For half marathon

Why You MUST Run a Marathon

Chris —  February 18, 2010

If you’d known me before I started training for my marathon, you would have laughed at the idea.  My only memory as a child of playing any sports was sitting down on a soccer field, while the rest of my team chased the ball.  I have never been mistaken for “athletic.”

This is why you MUST run a marathon.  For me, or at least, pre-marathon me, an accomplishment like this  would have been impossible.  I’m not saying “you can do anything if you just put your mind to it!”  But I have come to believe that life isn’t worth living if you are not aiming at incredible, meaningful accomplishments; goals that are out of reach of the person you are today.

If you read this blog, I hope my story will encourage you to set BHAGs and accomplish them.

For my single friends, what if you stopped focusing on things like getting your career off the ground and finding the perfect someone, and set a goal like rebuilding a village in Haiti or writing that book you have in you.

For those who are parents, what if you set the goal of being so involved in your children’s life and schooling that every single student in your community graduates.

For those who are retirees, what if you decided to devote your time and energy into coaching young couples in marriage, and personally destroying our nations 50% divorce rate.

What is impossible for you?  Why aren’t you doing it?

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The Marathon

Chris —  February 17, 2010

The marathon began one year ago. Out of work, broke, stranded in San Antonio, I started running, mainly to keep from going crazy. It took about three or four  months to get up to the point I could jog the three mile loop behind my house. It took even longer before I could say that I “enjoy running.”

When I moved to Austin, I knew that it would be months or years before I would be accomplishing many of my life goals . So I set a new goal, run a half-marathon. I trained for about 3 months and completed the run in November. My life  is still a mess, but I was in the best shape ever, so I started training for a full marathon.

Since I’m obsessed with podcasts and audiobooks training wasn’t that bad. Runs became special times for me to hang out with my favorite public radio hosts, church leaders, and authors.

The worst part of the race itself was getting up far earlier than normal and charging off into the cold to find parking. Some smart people made jackets out of trash bags, which they could easily discard.

I started the race off listening to David Crowder’s “Church Music.” Though I’m not a big CCM guy, the Christian themes and heavy dance beats seemed like a good idea.

The race looped as far south as 71 and as far north as Anderson Lane. Although it was well supported, there weren’t as many fans, drinks and food as there were in San Antonio. I stopped every time for water, and grabbed every random snack I could along the way, from boiled salty potatoes to animal crackers.

I had hoped to come in under 4:30, but began to drastically slow down around mile 16. At mile 19 my playlist hit Green Day’s 21st Century break down. Someone offered me an orange. I exploded with juicy goodness and punched the sky in my old punk rock fashion.

Running became a spiritual experience for me when I heard Billy Joe singing a chorus of “you are forgiven” in a style reminiscent of the nah-nah-nahs of “Hey Jude.” Overwhelmed by the truth of the lyrics and the reality that I was just a few miles from completing a task I never would have imagined possible, I burst into tears.

At mile 25 I reached the capital of Texas, which for the first time struck me as majestic. I switched to David Crowder’s cover of “Oh, How He Loves Us” and sang along at the top of my lungs. I can only imagine what the other runners thought, but I hope they heard.

Reaching the 26 mile marker, I found myself sprinting faster than I knew I could, knowing that I had to give my best, finish strong, and move on to the other goals in my life.

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How NOT To Complete Your First 19-Mile Run

Chris —  December 18, 2009

I still don’t have a full time job, and I’m a glutton for punishment, so I’ve half heartedly decided to follow my victorious first ever half-marathon with February’s Austin Marathon.

It’s been hard to get my heart back in it.  I’ve been doing three or four mile runs, and even a whopping eight.  Then a few guys at work who said they were going to do 15 last Saturday, so I decided to get my butt in gear.

My knee’s been bugging me, I’ve never run 15 miles,  and it’s rained every day in December.  But I joined my co-workers for this little jog throughout Austin.  Around mile 11 I hit my wall, and the course became a series of hills that seemed to have been transplanted from my home state of Colorado.

My running partners were long gone when I hit a stop light, where where we had planned to turn.  I took a right, and found myself in unfamiliar territory.  My body grew low on fuel, I got lonely, and I knew that I had to be at work soon.  I did my best to head the direction of my car.

By this time I had gone far out of my way, I began to fear that I wouldn’t make it back in time.  My body began screaming, my legs weighed about 2,000 lbs each, and I seemed to be running through waist deep concrete.  I made a vow to myself and the Holy Spirit that I wouldn’t stop running, no matter what.  Many times I realized that I could probably stop and walk faster, but I knew that would be the end.

After 3 hours and 20 minutes, I returned to my starting point.  When I mapped it all out, I had run 19.35 miles; six more than my all-time total.

The moral of the story?  I don’t know.  Study the map.  Turn around if you get lost.  Don’t schedule a big strange run before work.  Beg you running partners not to leave you behind.  Solicit donations from blog readers for an iPhone or a Garmin watch.

Or just don’t run marathons.  They leave you tired and hungry and sore and late for work.

The funny thing is, I’m excited about this race again.  Yesterday I strapped up my knee and purposefully killed my legs on a few big hills.  Before running a half marathon I didn’t think I had it in me.  I definitely didn’t feel ready for a 19-miler–but I finished it.

So…

Bring it.

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What I Learned From My First Half-Marathon

Chris —  November 18, 2009

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Last Spring, during my 7 months of unemployment, I came to a few conclusions: I needed to stay active, and there were only so many hours I could spend everyday looking for jobs.  So I tried something I’d never done before: running.

I started with a few quick trips up and down a road near my house.  I became comfortable with running about 5k, which was a mind blowing accomplishment, and then began to push beyond that.  After one or two longer runs I realized that six miles wasn’t really harder than three, and I first got the idea that maybe I could run in a half marathon.

When I got back from my summer-long mission trip I started running again, and began to research what I needed to do to prepare.  I found a 12 week training schedule and got into a rhythm of running four days a week.  I was soon up to back up to three miles, and began to feel like I hadn’t even pushed myself if I wasn’t running at least six.  My training topped out the week before the race with a ten mile run, which I celebrated as if it were the race itself.

This past Sunday I gathered with about 30,000 other runners from all around the world at the San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll  Half Marathon and ran 13.1 miles in two hours and six minutes.  Here are a few take-aways I’d like to share with you, that I believe apply to running, and life in general.

1) Anybody can run a half marathon. That’s right: Anybody.  Yeah, you, with the spare tire hanging over your pants, you can run a half marathon.  All it takes is going outside, everyday for the next three or four months and running.  What seems like a great accomplishment on my part pales when I realize I was only one of about 30,000 people that ran last Sunday, that a girl ran the whole marathon in less time than I ran the half, and that more than one grandma beat me.

2) Goals are good, but goals with timelines are better. I thought about running a half marathon for awhile, but thinking about it didn’t do much for me.  What made the difference was circling a date on the calendar, and holding myself to a daily exercise plan.  Each week I ran a few more miles than the last, until the race came and I did  just fine.

3) It gets easier-even fun! One of my greatest shocks in the process is that I have come to enjoy running.  This was a very slow process.  I mean months went by, hundreds of miles were ran, and I still hated every minute of it.  Then one day I finished my run, and I realized “I’m just getting warmed up.  I could totally keep going!”  It’s still hard to get started, but one I’m two or three miles in, I don’t think about it anymore, and I just keep running.

My encouragement to you is to set a goal for something you never thought you could ever do.  Make a plan.  Work on it everyday.  Celebrate  every little victory along the way.  And enjoy the race.

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