marathon

(photo from my last half marathon)

It's official. I've decided to run the Chicago marathon with my friend Kristin, my older brother, and possibly a few other friends, this coming fall. (Anyone want to join?)

I think running is good for my soul.

My first marathon was in college--with my friends Stacy, Sara and Clare. I don't think I'll ever forget our training runs together--twenty-mile talks while jogging through open fields, past monasteries, red leaves falling all over us and the trail right next to the Chippewa River. There's something about pushing your body--and about disciplining yourself to be faithful to a community and to a common goal. There's also something about stopping long enough to notice that the early morning blacktop reflects the sunrise.

Marathon training was hard--that's why I haven't run a marathon in a few years. Every time I start, I remember anew, that running so long makes me sick, limits me to eating a very few things, crunches my sleep, requires breathing cold air at ungodly hours. I remember lying on the floor of my governors hall dorm room, after those long runs, with my roommate Anna going to the basement to fetch me bags of ice because my legs hurt too much to walk.

So why do it? I have changed a lot since college, and many of those changes have been good, but not all. Running, in some ways, helps me remember who I once was, so maybe, I can recover some of the good things I've lost.

I'm hoping to update my running progress on here, at least occasionally.

So, today, day one.