I ran the #spokanemarathon today. (26.2)
I ran a 4:38. A PR by more than 20 min from my last “attempt” at a marathon in 2020.
At mile 22 at the top of “doomsday hill,” a hill I was determined to “not walk” up (which turned out to be pure crazy talk. Of course I had to walk up it.) people were holding some “motivational” signs at the top of the hill…
“WTF are you running from?”
“I bet this seemed like a good idea 6 months ago.”
🤨
To be fair, they weren’t wrong. I think I actually told the gal holding one of the signs that indeed this was a TERRIBLE idea. I was utterly exhausted, every muscle in my leg twinged with each step and still had 4 miles to go.
“You’re done with the hardest part!” She tried to encourage me.
I was indeed NOT done with the hardest part.
The last 4 miles of the marathon were excruciating. I think I was going 4 inches per step. The worst part was that the last few miles of the race wound through Riverfront Park, filled with people just out for a causal walk or jog or out walking their dog.
And I was on mile 23 of the end of the world and I was determined to finish it without walking again. My “jogging” pace was so slow that I couldn’t even catch a casual “dog walker.”
But I did it. I finished. I hate running and I just ran a marathon.
“Why did you do it?”
I don’t know. Maybe it was impulsive. Maybe it wasn’t a great idea. Maybe I just like to torture myself.
Or maybe I need to prove to myself that I can still persevere through some of the most difficult situations in life. Maybe I need to know that even when I am physically and mentally exhausted, I can keep putting one foot in front of the other until I reach my goal.
Maybe I just need to know that I can still do “hard things.”