Marathon Fun

Training for a marathon has opened up a whole new world for me. First, I'm surprising myself every week, discovering that I actually enjoy being outside early on a Saturday morning chatting to women as we run through the streets and parks of San Francisco. The even bigger shock is that I'm fine with doing all of this in spandex and a baseball hat - two things I normally keep as far away from my wardrobe as possible.

Running has totally changed my mentality about what I'm capable of and how much I can push myself. I also have learned that being able to run long distances is complicated. It's not about having a "runner's body" or a gene from your running parents. You need stamina, strength, hydration, the right nutrition, the right equipment and sleep. And that's about it. Well, that and motivation.

I ran into my first "runner's wall" a couple of weeks ago. I was so disappointed with myself, and it was mostly because I hadn't prepared well all week so it showed on the run. It was an 18-mile run, and I had talked myself up about it all week. The longest run we had before that was a 16-miler, and I thought, what the heck, tagging on a couple more miles is nothing. Right? Not really. Not when you stop getting enough water, enough sleep, enough fuel for your body. The night before the run I had yummy Chinese food, champagne and English chocolate - three of my all time favorite things! Dique and I had a couple friends over, we stayed up late, indulged to the max and had a great night. It was an absolute blast, actually, until the next morning when I woke up with an upset stomach and then tried to run 18 miles dehydrated and nauseous.

The first eight miles were fantastic. I made it through the next five without too much of a struggle. But somewhere between mile 13 and 15 I fell apart. My ego blames the ginormous, never-ending, pain-in-the-hey-hey hill the takes you from Ocean Beach up to the Cliff House and into the Richmond District. But the truth is? I totally messed up. I essentially walked the last three miles in and even walking hurt. If I had money for a cab on me I totally would have hailed one. It was that crappy.

So - instead of getting really bummed about it, I decided the following week would not only be different, but it would way better. I wouldn't let the run kick my butt, I'd kick it's butt - and hard. I went back to focusing on nutrition, stretching, drinking water instead of champagne (even though the latter is so. much. better!) and I got a lot of sleep. Come Saturday morning I was able to get up, go for that 20-mile run and even turn into a butterfly princess and volunteer at Pink Saturday until into the night, on my feet and dancing.

I was so proud of myself and thought - hell if I can do this, I can run that marathon. Which is something I never thought I'd say.