Day One - And Away We Go...
Here's the short version:
A couple weeks back my friend Jen (you may know her as G-Rocks) asked me if I'd be interested in running a marathon with her. I told her I was busy that day but to ask me again the next. I said that because I'm pretty funny. No one really knows that Iv'e always wanted to run a marathon because I didn't want to get laughed at so I never told anyone. But I have. The only problem is that I don't run so well.
I just realized that this isn't really the short version. You'll live.
As much as I have always said that I want to run a marathon someday, I always figured that someday was far far away and I wouldn't actually have to actually make that happen for myself any time soon. But Jen's question got me thinking. I went on vacation the next day (I don't remember if it was really the next day, but that's a detail you shouldn't really be worried about right now) and gave myself the week to think about it. I talked to my mom who said that I should probably not undertake this right now. Not so much because she doesn't believe in me - she's my mom, I think she still believes I could be president if I wanted it bad enough - but rather because of something I haven't told you yet.
You're DYING to know what that is, aren't you?
Now I think I've built this up too much. The thing is, Jen is training for the marathon with a group called "Team In Training." I totally suck at the internet, but if you are interested in just what Team In Training (they call themselves TNT, but clearly the more logical acronym is TIT and I plan to suggest it to them, not because they are a boob-like organization, but because I love the English language), I'll take a wild guess and say that you can learn more about them at www.teamintraining.com. I'll verify that tomorrow when I post again.
SIDE NOTE: I HAVE been to the TNT website, I just don't remember the address right now. Again, a detail you shouldn't really care about right now.
Anyway, Team In Training, I have learned over the past couple weeks, is an amazing organization. Basically they let slobs like me sign up to run marathons, help us train, and then fly us to exotic locations and put us up in hotels and then cheer us on as we actually run a marathon. I think there is probably some kind of pasta party involved too, but that's sort of a guess. Also they do a lot of clapping. That's not a complaint. I'm down with the clapping.
And what does Team In Training ask for in return?
Money.
But it's cool. They don't want my money. They want yours. It's just that they're kinda busy with the running and the exotic locations and the slobs so they want me to ask you for it instead of doing it themselves. Flying people to different locations and feeding them pasta costs money, that's where you come in. But this is where things get kinda cool. Because for every dollar you donate, they only use like 25% on exotic locations and pasta. The other 75% goes to cancer research. Not just researching a cure, but researching treatments. It's totally noble and selfless and alternately makes me feel like a good person for trying to chip in and a total scumbag for not selling my TV and moving to Sri Lanka to...build something...
...with my soft and ladylike hands.
I should say that I've never been to Sri Lanka and I don't mean to assume they need stuff built. Sorry if that's offensive.
So yeah, that's the catch here. I've gotta do some fundraising (kind of a lot of it - not like selling a box of 30 candybars for a buck a piece in little league...more like selling 130 boxes...which I've never done before) before I can go run the marathon. So if you're reading this, odds are you've been (or will be) asked for money. And you will be again. If you give once, that's all you gotta do, but you'll still get the reminder emails because I'm way too lazy to change the distribution list. I'll make you a deal though - if you donate to me I will thank you personally in an email that I send to everyone, which you can then forward to your mom and she'll be proud of you - and maybe she'll donate some money too.
So don't be a jerk because I'm gonna train really really hard for this thing and a measly $3800.00 shouldn't keep me from realizing my dream. Well...it's sort of a dream. More like something I am daring myself to do. But hey if it takes daring yourself to do something cool like run a marathon and raise four grand for cancer research, that can't be all bad, right?
Oh yeah...my friend Jen has a really fancy blog that is tracking her progress. I should also say that she is running for a friend of hers that passed away last year after a battle with cancer, which is what inspired her to get involved. But then again, if you know Jen, she's always been involved in pretty much anything good you can imagine. Now she's just got a more personal connection and as endlessly impressed as I have always been with her, she now gets yet another standing ovation from me for lighting the fire here.
Anyway, Jen's blog is much prettier than mine complete with pictures and links that she has researched. She's also much smarter than I am, more informative, as well as easier on the eyes, so maybe you should just go and read her entries if you like her so much. There's pictures of me too. I'll definitely link to her tomorrow when I can remember the address. It's here on blogspot and it's called "girlyoubetterrun" so that might be a good starting point.
Finally, we started our training today so here's the update:
Day 1
Met the "Winter Season" runners and coaches in Central Park at 8:30 this morning. They split us into walkers, beginners and intermediate/advanced runners. Being an idiot I decided to run with the intermediate/advanced team. Why not? I mean, last time I ran I did a 5K with no problems. Never mind that it was last Thanksgiving after training for months. Yeah, like I said, I'm an idiot.
So my group was told to take three laps around the lower loop in Central Park which is 1.7 miles around. Quick math will tell you that equals 5.1 miles. So, I did it. And it sucked. It felt really really bad. There was a lot of pain, a lot of self doubt and definitely more than one moment when I knew for sure that I will never run a marathon. But I countered that saying that this is only day one and that I've got until January 14 to turn things around. However, while we were stretching after the run (I have no idea how long it took me, but I think it was a while, and for whatever it's worth I was definitely bringing up the rear) I thought several times that if these people train me well enough to finish a real honest to goodness marathon then they are miracle workers.
So there you go. The first five miles under my belt and about 12 hours later I feel OK about it. Despite the fact that I can't really make it down the one flight of stairs from my apartment to the street I am planning on running 3 more tomorrow. I even bought some real running sneakers today. Hopefully I'm on my way to someplace good. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for reading. More later...
DAY 1
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 5.1
TOTAL MILEAGE: 5.1
A couple weeks back my friend Jen (you may know her as G-Rocks) asked me if I'd be interested in running a marathon with her. I told her I was busy that day but to ask me again the next. I said that because I'm pretty funny. No one really knows that Iv'e always wanted to run a marathon because I didn't want to get laughed at so I never told anyone. But I have. The only problem is that I don't run so well.
I just realized that this isn't really the short version. You'll live.
As much as I have always said that I want to run a marathon someday, I always figured that someday was far far away and I wouldn't actually have to actually make that happen for myself any time soon. But Jen's question got me thinking. I went on vacation the next day (I don't remember if it was really the next day, but that's a detail you shouldn't really be worried about right now) and gave myself the week to think about it. I talked to my mom who said that I should probably not undertake this right now. Not so much because she doesn't believe in me - she's my mom, I think she still believes I could be president if I wanted it bad enough - but rather because of something I haven't told you yet.
You're DYING to know what that is, aren't you?
Now I think I've built this up too much. The thing is, Jen is training for the marathon with a group called "Team In Training." I totally suck at the internet, but if you are interested in just what Team In Training (they call themselves TNT, but clearly the more logical acronym is TIT and I plan to suggest it to them, not because they are a boob-like organization, but because I love the English language), I'll take a wild guess and say that you can learn more about them at www.teamintraining.com. I'll verify that tomorrow when I post again.
SIDE NOTE: I HAVE been to the TNT website, I just don't remember the address right now. Again, a detail you shouldn't really care about right now.
Anyway, Team In Training, I have learned over the past couple weeks, is an amazing organization. Basically they let slobs like me sign up to run marathons, help us train, and then fly us to exotic locations and put us up in hotels and then cheer us on as we actually run a marathon. I think there is probably some kind of pasta party involved too, but that's sort of a guess. Also they do a lot of clapping. That's not a complaint. I'm down with the clapping.
And what does Team In Training ask for in return?
Money.
But it's cool. They don't want my money. They want yours. It's just that they're kinda busy with the running and the exotic locations and the slobs so they want me to ask you for it instead of doing it themselves. Flying people to different locations and feeding them pasta costs money, that's where you come in. But this is where things get kinda cool. Because for every dollar you donate, they only use like 25% on exotic locations and pasta. The other 75% goes to cancer research. Not just researching a cure, but researching treatments. It's totally noble and selfless and alternately makes me feel like a good person for trying to chip in and a total scumbag for not selling my TV and moving to Sri Lanka to...build something...
...with my soft and ladylike hands.
I should say that I've never been to Sri Lanka and I don't mean to assume they need stuff built. Sorry if that's offensive.
So yeah, that's the catch here. I've gotta do some fundraising (kind of a lot of it - not like selling a box of 30 candybars for a buck a piece in little league...more like selling 130 boxes...which I've never done before) before I can go run the marathon. So if you're reading this, odds are you've been (or will be) asked for money. And you will be again. If you give once, that's all you gotta do, but you'll still get the reminder emails because I'm way too lazy to change the distribution list. I'll make you a deal though - if you donate to me I will thank you personally in an email that I send to everyone, which you can then forward to your mom and she'll be proud of you - and maybe she'll donate some money too.
So don't be a jerk because I'm gonna train really really hard for this thing and a measly $3800.00 shouldn't keep me from realizing my dream. Well...it's sort of a dream. More like something I am daring myself to do. But hey if it takes daring yourself to do something cool like run a marathon and raise four grand for cancer research, that can't be all bad, right?
Oh yeah...my friend Jen has a really fancy blog that is tracking her progress. I should also say that she is running for a friend of hers that passed away last year after a battle with cancer, which is what inspired her to get involved. But then again, if you know Jen, she's always been involved in pretty much anything good you can imagine. Now she's just got a more personal connection and as endlessly impressed as I have always been with her, she now gets yet another standing ovation from me for lighting the fire here.
Anyway, Jen's blog is much prettier than mine complete with pictures and links that she has researched. She's also much smarter than I am, more informative, as well as easier on the eyes, so maybe you should just go and read her entries if you like her so much. There's pictures of me too. I'll definitely link to her tomorrow when I can remember the address. It's here on blogspot and it's called "girlyoubetterrun" so that might be a good starting point.
Finally, we started our training today so here's the update:
Day 1
Met the "Winter Season" runners and coaches in Central Park at 8:30 this morning. They split us into walkers, beginners and intermediate/advanced runners. Being an idiot I decided to run with the intermediate/advanced team. Why not? I mean, last time I ran I did a 5K with no problems. Never mind that it was last Thanksgiving after training for months. Yeah, like I said, I'm an idiot.
So my group was told to take three laps around the lower loop in Central Park which is 1.7 miles around. Quick math will tell you that equals 5.1 miles. So, I did it. And it sucked. It felt really really bad. There was a lot of pain, a lot of self doubt and definitely more than one moment when I knew for sure that I will never run a marathon. But I countered that saying that this is only day one and that I've got until January 14 to turn things around. However, while we were stretching after the run (I have no idea how long it took me, but I think it was a while, and for whatever it's worth I was definitely bringing up the rear) I thought several times that if these people train me well enough to finish a real honest to goodness marathon then they are miracle workers.
So there you go. The first five miles under my belt and about 12 hours later I feel OK about it. Despite the fact that I can't really make it down the one flight of stairs from my apartment to the street I am planning on running 3 more tomorrow. I even bought some real running sneakers today. Hopefully I'm on my way to someplace good. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for reading. More later...
DAY 1
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 5.1
TOTAL MILEAGE: 5.1
posted by Demps at 5:44 PM
1 Comments:
thanks for all the compliments, that is tres sweet but really i owe you for actually doing this with me. believe you me, you might even get a hug from my mom at the finish line.
and not only that, but i get to read your writing - you are one funny [explitive].
call me before you run tomorrow, i'd do two loops with you.
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