The World is Bigger Than I Thought

A few months ago I signed up on dailymile.com to track my running. Today I checked out my training to date. 514 miles run to date. Not bad. 16 pounds burned. That explains much of my 25 pound weight loss. 1,031 TVs powered. Not sure how they figured that, since I was never hooked up to a TV. 290 donuts burned. Great, although pieces of pizza would be more relevant for me. .02 of the way around the world.

.02 of the way around the world?? Wow, that sure doesn't sound impressive. What a letdown. After four months of running 30-40 miles a week, three 20+ mile runs, and even once getting up at 3 a.m. to run 20 miles up a mountain, I'm only 2% of the way around the world. Damn.

Well, I guess it is a pretty big world. But, note to the people of dailymile.com: consider expressing miles relative to a small state, like Rhode Island. 20 times across Rhode Island is much more impressive than .02 of the way around the world.

Anyway, regardless of the meager amount of this world that I have traversed, I'm on the cusp of running my first marathon in 13 years. My long runs are over, and between now and December 11th I'll only run about 25 miles, so the chances of getting injured are pretty slim.

I started running seriously again about four months ago with a goal of running another marathon. I was tired of marathoning being one more thing that I used to do. My last serious attempt at a marathon was in 2003, but three weeks before the race I pulled a calf muscle and never recovered. This time, although there were various aches and pains and times I was sure a muscle would give in, my body always seemed to step up when called upon. Although I have a persistent dull ache in my left knee, it's nothing that will keep me from running 26.2 miles.

How will I do? I'm not sure. My goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which will require a run of 3 hours and 30 minutes or less, or an 8 minute mile pace. I think the goal is attainable, but far from certain. Running that time will require great conditions, some good rest, and getting some spring back into my legs. I predict that at mile 20 I'll be in a position to get there. As always, the last six miles will determine the outcome of my marathon.

I haven't run a 3:30 marathon since 1992. Since then I've run off the equivalent of 3,654 donuts (and ate back all but three of them), powered a few thousand TVs, and run 20% of the way around the globe.

At the same time, 20% of my life has gone by. As John Denver sang "it's a long way from L.A. to Denver." It's also a long way from 29 to 47, at least for a runner.

Hopefully on December 11th I'll be able to turn back the clock a bit. Stay tuned. (I don't know why I write 'stay tuned,' because this blog has proven my theory than one can write a blog and hardly anyone will know about it).