e-mail: January 5

mollyjo.com

marathon home

January 5, 2000

Some pre-marathon thoughts:

How can time be so fickle? Fast when you don't' want it and sloooooooow when you want fast. This week has been a month long. I'm so excited that I want the weekend to be here now. But then again, I'm loving all of the heart-pumping, over-the-top excitement that I'm feeling. I want to bottle it and keep it for life!! I can't remember being this excited. My skin isn't big enough to hold it all in although I've been told that if I explode, I won't look good for the race. Guess I'll try to contain myself. I think that this is the most awesome feeling ever, especially since my memory banks have long since purged the post-childbirth feelings.

I'm so appreciative to so many people. Our coaches, Beth and Judy, have been wonderful...patient, encouraging, and motivating. They've been our mentors, trainers, cheerleaders, psychiatrists, physical therapists and friends. Whether it's a kick in the butt or a pat on the back, they've been there to provide it.

We even have our own angel, Myra. An angel in marathon terms is the person who is there to give you water, food, etc. Every week Myra hauls two huge coolers of water and Gatorade from stop to stop. She parks the car, unloads the coolers, sets them up and pours all those little cups, breaks everything down, and moves to the next stop. And all we do is run past and grab. Everyone needs such an angel!

Our team (and we really are a team at this point in time) has been through the past five months together. You get to know a lot about someone even if you don't know names (and there are people who I can't call by name!). There's something about sharing 21 miles or 4:00 wake up calls or pain that bonds you together. You share feelings with your team that you wouldn't with anyone else because they understand. I will miss this level of companionship when we're done.

And then there are you guys. I can only tell you again and again that you have been the emotional support that has kept me going. It's been the calls and the e-mails and the "you can do it" encouragement that's made the difference. I don't know of anyone else in our team who has had this many people in the bleachers cheering for them. You're always there in my thoughts when I lag and need to get an emotional jolt of adrenaline.

This has been a life changing experience for me. I originally planned to do a half marathon when I started in August. If you had told me then that I could dare to think that I would ever do something like this, I would have told you to sober up and rejoin reality. I've had a number of people tell me that they couldn't do this. I think you'd be surprised. Would you have ever thought that I could? Has it been a huge commitment? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Probably……but not for a while.

Have I told you how excited I am? The race is in three days. I can't wait! I didn't write the following but it's very descriptive of my journey despite the schmaltz.

WHAT IS A MARATHON?

A marathon is a river. Its waters gather at the start where they bubble and froth. It flows forth, in a fast torrent and later in slow and certain ebb, toward a noisy sea at the finish.

A marathon is a parade in reverse, in which the marchers enjoy the passing scenery and cheer for the spectators, who cheer back.

A marathon is a race between two people - who you were and who you are.

A marathon is a celebration of triumph of mind over body.

A marathon is a collection of miles. Some are uphill, some are downhill, some are rainy, some are hot. Some we'd like to repeat and some we'd rather forget, but each is inseparable from the others.

A marathon is a string of moments, mixtures of events and emotions that we sample as we move along.

A marathon is a pilgrimage. Alone or with thousands, it is a journey of 26.2 miles to a place that can be gotten to no other way, and must be revisited by the same path.

A marathon is a gathering of bright new souls travelling in bodies young and old, bent and upright, fast and slow, slender and not so, whole and incomplete, fresh and scarred.

A marathon is unequivocal. There is no easy marathon, no "light" marathon, no short marathon, no "mini" marathon. Nobody can do it for you or give it to you and you can't buy it. It can't be taken from you, it doesn't tarnish with age and in retrospect it will never seem silly.

A marathon is truth. Its outcome will not be altered by exaggeration or denial of one's abilities. It cannot be influenced by bluster and it is there to mock us if we take ourselves too seriously. Its voice grows louder with each step.

A marathon is negotiation. We make whatever bargains with our bodies we must, but we will not be denied the finish line.

A marathon is a lesson that the true value of something is measured by what it cost us, not by what others think and say.

A marathon is a mirror. It tells us who we are. Some of us laugh and joke our way through it, some of us whine and complain at every hardship, and some of us tuck our heads into the wind and grind it out in silence. It's the same 26.2 miles for everybody and each deals with it in his own way.

A marathon is a metaphor for life. There are a lot of highs and lows between the beginning and the end. What's important is not how fast you get it over with, but how much living you can cram into it. Take time to make some friends along the way. They'll be there for you at the finish line.