DC Marathon, 2011

Last year, I PR'ed in the DC marathon. This year was not quite as fast. However, I really wasn't properly trained, so I was happy to finish at all.

DC Marathons really beat me up though. Last year I had to go to the medic tent at the end for anti-nausea medicine. This year I had to go to one during the race and have them wrap my knee. I've never had knee issues, so it was painful and worrying to suddenly develop one. I've also never stopped at a medic station during a race, so I was worried they would tell me I couldn't keep running. No fear though! The girl who wrapped my knee was incredibly nice. I told her, "you're my hero!" which maybe weirded her out a little, but there is no way I could have finished the race without having the knee wrapped!

Currently, I am experiencing no knee pain, so don't worry about little old me.

This weekend is the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile run. I can't wait to run with my mom again! We had so much fun last year and I'm really looking forward to doing it again. Also, I moved from the hood of DC to Pentagon City (yes, I can see Macy's from my apartment) and therefore I could sign up for the Crystal City 5k Friday races in April...so now I have 3 races in the course of 8 days. I'm positive that this will help me kick start my running, prep me for the 24 hour race in July, and in general make me a better person.

High hopes.

What women want (are you overcompensating for something here?)

There is a great scene in the terrible movie "What Women Want" where Helen Hunt's character is thinking of a pitch for Nike's women's division. In her head she's describing a woman running: "She's running. It's early, it's quiet. Just the sound of her feet on the asphalt. She likes to run alone. No pressure, no stress. This is the one place she can be herself. Look any way she wants, dress, think any way she wants. No game playing, no rules."

This is how I feel about running. You can be yourself. No one is judging you. That is running. You're not the person who didn't get into grad school, or the person who messed something up at home or at work. You're the runner.

Sometimes, the only reason why I continue to run is because I feel like it's the only thing I'm capable of doing. Sometimes every other part of my life feels like I'm failing or stupid or incompetent. Running saves me from that. When I tell people that I run marathons or that I'm training for an ultramarathon, then they listen to me. Then they think I'm important. The truth is that I'm not even that good at running, but at least when you're running all that matters is that you reach the finish line.

Hey - read this article

Hey everyone who thinks they don't need to exercise:

Read this.

Get on a treadmill.

That's all.