1) Watching Spartan football (it’s a bye week)
2) Running the Chicago Marathon
Running the marathon last year was one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve always been a runner so setting the goal of completing a marathon, putting in all of the miles, early mornings and losing of toenails to finally crossing the finish line…well, there’s just really nothing like it.
Still fresh from the finish line high, I signed up for it again this year. I logged the miles, did the training. But life also happened. Other things needed to be attended to, needed my energy, and my training runs became just something else on my list that I had to cross off. It stopped being something that I was hungry for and became a task. And that’s not the point. I’m not going to win the marathon (the people who actually do win are probably having mimosas by the time I hit Mile 13), running is something I do to feel good and if it’s not making me feel good anymore, then let’s bag it.
Making the decision to not run happened 2 weeks ago. And it felt really bad.
And then it felt better. Good, even. Like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was better able to take on the other things in my life that were happening and shooting out for a run at the end of a long day became fun again.
This was the right decision for me. It doesn’t mean I won’t tackle 26.2 again but for this year, I will be cheering my heart out for everyone who is pounding the pavement tomorrow morning.
And when I say “cheering my heart out”, I mean it: my heart is with every single runner who has been chasing down this goal for the better part of a year, with their eyes fixed on the 26.2 prize. Good luck, Godspeed and great job!