Here I am focused but in good spirits.
I ran my first marathon last Sunday. It was the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon. I am proud of my ability to commit to a training program for it. A friend of mine, Matt, sent me his training program from his run last year and I followed it week-on-week. I trained for 9 weeks leading up to the marathon. The 9 weeks completely changed my schedule as I was forced to sleep much earlier than usual (generally before 11PM) and wake up early to run or finish work.
The runs out to the beach in Santa Monica on Sundays from UCLA made up for the scheduling sacrifices. Once you hit the 5.2 mile mark on San Vicenete from UCLA you hit a panoramic view of the Pacific ocean. I always become breathless at the sight. It always makes it worth it.
The most grueling part of a marathon is after 22 miles. This is something Haruki Murakami, one of my favorite novelists, observes in in the New Yorker this week (only an abstract). Murakami writes on the birth of his writing career and his newfound passion for running at the age of 33.
There are days when one doesn’t feel like running:
“Once, I interviewed the Olympic runner Toshihiko Seko, just after he had retired from running. I asked him, “Does a runner at your level ever feel like you’d rather not run today?” He stared at me and then, in a voice that made it abundantly clear how stupid he thought the question was, “Of course. All the time!” - Murakami
The fact is that most times you have to suck it up and stick to the schedule. Lethargy can be injurious.
I was in good spirits the whole run, which is something that is different from most runners of the marathon. It seems like many of the runners become quite cheerless by the end.
My chiptime for the marathon was 3:51:45. I wasn’t really focused on time, but it was a decent first time and I am more than happy with it.
The best part about running it was that I was able to raise close to $1.7K for Doctors Without Borders. This was done through the support of my friends and family who donated to charity through www.firstgiving.org/harsh The rest of the $1.1K that is not listed at firstgiving.org/harsh is coming in from my parents’ friends. Each and every one of them were in my mind as I pushed through the last few miles of the marathon. Thanks for sponsoring me and supporting Doctors Without Borders everyone! The demand for aid in the area of global health is greater than ever with the decrepit situation in Burma post-cyclone Nargis. It’s also important not to forget the situation in Darfur.
I think anyone can run a marathon if you are willing to put in the time and effort. But first you must have the interest!
Here are some useful websites if you are thinking about running a marathon:
http://www.mapmyrun.com
http://www.mahalo.com/Marathon_Training
