Two Guys on my Shoulders

Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon
Why?
Heidi loves pacing, and was named the 3:55 pacer. I did not volunteer/get chosen to be a pacer for this event. I found I was going by and e-mail that said something like “congratulations! Your wife signed you up for another marathon. By the way, we hit your card for well over $100.”
The Training
What training? I had a combination of unfortunate things operating in symphony like a 3 week illness that hit me hard (I still have not fully recovered). A pain in my butt for the last month (a real one). 2 bad legs (likely from the same pair of shoes for almost 2 years) (oops). And a few weeks ago I did a series of box jumps and screwed my knee up. Since this is not my first marathon, and seemed to be recovering I decided to man up and get it done rather than run the half.
We get up to Vancouver with our group of buddies, check in, and do all the stuff. A comment I heard on Saturday afternoon while eating a bison burger and sucking down the local brew that came with it was “should you be eating that stuff today?” My response was “why yes! I doubt it will slow my down tomorrow”
The Race
There was the normal fanfare including taking pictures, telling stories, and saying “Hi” to the many people I used to run with when I used to run more.
The gun goes off and I take off running in my heart rate zone like a good boy. I stay ahead of Heidi for the most part, except she goes a steady speed even up hills. At times she caught me, and we would swap a few words. I was good support for her as I would slip her food, and carry her pole when she wanted a break. Don’t tell her, but I was also watching her time/pace, and she was spot on perfect the whole day…
At mile 19, I was just plain old regular tired. Put a fork in me, I’m done tired. Not for any reason than inadequate training. Then these 2 guys on my shoulders start battling it out yelling into my head.
Bad guy. Left shoulder. Dressed in red with pointy things on his skull. I think I saw a tail…
Good guy. Right shoulder. Dressed in green. Clean shaven. Big smile on his face.
Mile 20.                BG. Fatso. Fatty fatty 2×4. You could not fit through a bathroom door.
  1. You are not. Your weight is up a bit from Cross-Fit
Mile 21                 BG. An aid station. How convenient. Wanna stop and grab a burger and beer? Worked good yesterday
  1. No. He is switching to broccoli and kale after this day.
Mile 22                 BG. Your getting a blister on your belly button from your fat belly rotating in the opposite direction of your fat $(%. Did you put glide on that thing?
  1. Shut up. His shorts are just a bit tight from doing all those squats and all those miles on the bike. See that skinny little guy that just past him? I bet he can’t ride.
Mile 23                 BG. You should slow down. Just walk a bit. Your heart is going to blow up and pop out of your chest.
  1. No. Just keep going. It is called endurance training. It will pay off next race.
Mile 24                 BG. Next race? You are really stupid. You are 56. Old guys like you should not be doing this crap.
  1. Huh. He just got passed by another guy the same age. Seems to me if old were the problem, none of them would be running any faster.
Mile 25                 BG. Look, there is a bench overlooking the San Juans in the warm afternoon sunshine! Why not stop and take a little break?
  1. Just keep pushing. Almost there. Nobody walks the last mile. Come on right foot, pick up, move forward, and set down. Left foot, you follow!
Mile 26                 BG. Almost there and then you can tell everybody how bad this sucks and that you will never do this anymore. Throw a pity party using excuses justifying your pathetic performance. Just let your words and attitude run wild, and spew enough vile to wreck your and others wonderful day! Yay You!
  1. Shut up your whining crying self! Look, there is Heidi, smiling like usual and encouraging as well. Look, there is Spooner. He ran the same course and he is smiling. Paste that attitude and smile on your face. Look at the hundreds of people ringing cowbells, cheering you on and yelling! Pass out a few high fives to kids! And as long as you’re at it, tear out the tongue of the BG. You did it. You completed marathon #51! Now, where is the food tent?
What did I learn?
I am blessed to be able to do what I can. Not everybody can.
Seize the moment!
I have a great wife that “makes” me do these things
My pants fit a little better for a little while.
I have great buddies who are like minded and support what I do.
Good attitudes spread slowly. Bad attitudes spread rapidly
Next up…the “Battle in Seattle”

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