I realized that I registered for my fifth marathon last week after chatting with Connie on Twitter. I never expected to be running marathons after my first one two years ago. The bug bit me. Now train to go beyond just simply finishing the race. I’m training to run better.
Marathons are a test of physical and mental endurance. A lot of time goes into preparing properly for a marathon. Anyone can do a marathon. I wanted to do it right and give it the effort it deserved. I trained to finish the marathon and give it all I had. I had to prove to myself that I can finish something. I never finished college. Many dreams never materialized because I stopped short of them. After my uncle died in his 50s, I realized life is too short to just sit around. I needed to believe in myself that I can finish something. I finished the race. I began to believe.
I did my second marathon to prove to the doubting Thomas within me that the first marathon wasn’t a fluke. I finished my second marathon faster than the first but I was disappointed in my effort and day of preparation. Both my legs cramped up and shut down on Archer Avenue. I didn’t quit. I marched like a toy soldier down to the finish line.
At Philadelphia, I finished the marathon within my ten minute window of my goal, and was quite happy with the results. The final two-thirds of the Philadelphia Marathon is much hilly than I am used to and I still finished within ten minutes of my goal time. I tasted freedom for the second time in my life in the city that gave birth to the longest lived democracy in the modern world.
The Illinois Marathon continues this freedom. I run for the shear joy of running. I train to run unencumbered. Times don’t matter. Effort counts. Happiness reigns. It’s freedom at it’s best.
A dream loops in my head for my fifth marathon. In this dream, I look much different than the first version of Mark running his very first marathon. I’m sculpted like a sports car. My frame is lightened to go blast through the course. I’m engineered to do my best after months of design and building. Although not very talented, the driver in the cockpit honed his skill from practice, pushing himself on race day, and learning his mistakes from previous races.
During this trip, the micro changes from running has been huge. I’m able to manage depression better. My confidence gets better each day. I’ve raised the bar higher for what I want out of my life. I expect more out of life. I do my best to, as Rudyard Kipling wrote in his poem, “fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.” The fifth marathon I registered for is a continuation of this journey. I run to be better. I train to live well.
