After years of saying “heck NO” to the idea of marathon running, I’ve come around. It wasn’t a quick change-of-mind; in fact, I’ve been mulling it over for quite a while. Too long, for someone who believes that successful people make decisions quickly and decisively.
What set me over the edge was something my boyfriend said. We were chatting about it one night, and I was lamenting the long, difficult runs that would await me, and he said, “I think you’ll be really happy if you do it.”
Why, of course.
These are the other reasons I started thinking about a marathon in the first place.
I’m not getting any younger.
Okay, I’m 32. I’m fit. I’m healthy. I feel good. But I have a feeling that a 25-year-old Amanda would have had a much easier time training for and running a marathon. And 32-year-old Amanda is going to find it easier than 40-year-old Amanda. The time is now, folks.
That’s true for most things.
All the cool kids are running marathons.
I’ve met so many people lately who have already run marathons. Not that I base my decisions on what everyone else is doing, but I admit that when they say they’ve done it, I think, “Well, if they can do it, so can I.” This group of incredible people includes my sister and sister-in-law, who did their first marathon last year in under four hours.
It’ll hurt for awhile, but I won’t regret it.
My sister tells a dim story of the pain of running the marathon. But even though she remembers the difficulty of the training and the race, she doesn’t regret doing it. (Even though I’m struggling to talk her into doing another one so she can do it with me.)
I’m craving something difficult.
I tell you guys to get to the gym. That’s an incredibly easy thing for me to do (hard work while I’m there, but it’s a process I enjoy), but I know it’s very difficult for many of you. If I’m going to ask you to do something difficult, then I need to do something difficult, too.
And let me tell you: marathon training is. I love to run, but my runs are generally 3-5 miles a few times a week to complement the other training I do. I am not a natural-born distance runner. I love to work out, but this…this is a challenging process for me, folks.
Have you ever run a marathon? Let me hear your story! I need all the help I can get. đ