It’s official, I’m giving up my marathon virginity to the Chicago Marathon in October 2010. This is the same race that I froze myself as a spectator last year, but spectator no mas. I’ll be one of those that looks like they’ve been beaten to death by the time they’re crawling to the finish. And I hope to do this in around four hours. Do note I’m making a guesstimate with the time since who knows –knee blowouts, leg cramps, and other fun things can happen during a marathon. At least as a female, I won’t have to battle jogger’s nipple. Though I am sure other parts my body won’t be so attractive when I’m done.
When I tell people this, they find it to be so impressive. Hold off folks. Have I crossed the finish line with that four hour time over my head? Not so much. So save the congrats until that actually happens at a brunch I plan to host where my mother will bring me a cake from my favorite bakery and I’ll down as much Veuve as my little heart desires. Until that debauchery, the training is under way.
The truth is I’ve signed up for another marathon right after I climbed Kilimanjaro with Ken. I was pretty certain if I could get top of Uhuru, I could run a marathon. Kilimanjaro really tested my comfort for a week (no showers, a constant diet of potatoes and pasta, and sleepless nights with people snoring and vomiting), so what’s a few hours of a marathon. But I got sick of the training. I can’t say what’s different this time other than I am really craving the challenge. I’m learning that a good marathon can be just as challenging. And as one of my ex’s told me “No one should get a medal for completing the race in five hours.”
So if this is your first marathon, I hope you’ll share my journey until the big race. If you’ve already run a marathon, I’d love to hear how you gave up your marathon v-card. E-mail me at katietarbox at gmail.com if you want to share your story with our readers.
