Perspective

Step back.
Imagine the possibilities.
Create the plan.
Enjoy the process.
Relish the outcome.
–From my desktop calendar (an actual paper calendar, and not my computer’s desktop)

Tomorrow is the LA Marathon. It’s supposed to rain at some point. A point at which the forecasters haven’t been able to reliably predict to save their lives. Oh well. I’m going to head to the Hills of Beverly to volunteer at a water station after a few hours of sleep first. It’ll be my first time attending a marathon. In the past I’ve intentionally stayed away from the general area and felt bad for the people not participating but who got caught in the resulting street closure traffic anyway.

Since I’ve been running, that disinterest has waned. Rather, the interest grew. I’m excited now to see what a race that long is like. I knew I wasn’t psychologically ready to sign up for this marathon a few months ago but a few good friends of mine were and did so. This is an amazing feat not to be entered into lightly and I was in full support of their decision to train and essentially drop out of my life for the most part, except for digital communication.

The best part about tomorrow is that I will be able to share in the joys of their goal accomplishment and live vicariously through them for an experience that there’s actually still time and other opportunities for me to do if I choose. The worst part is that I’m sure to lose my voice by 10am from all the yelling for the runners and maybe get rained on for hours. Last year I would not have entertained the thought of running in one. Me, run a marathon within the next couple of years? You = cray cray. But things happen, and people change. This year if asked if I’d run one, I may simply shrug and give a definite, “We’ll see.” I know that all it takes is for me to just start running. And coincidentally, I already do that now.

Yes, it’s hard and frustrating at the beginning but that’s what makes crossing the finish line of any ambitious goal so great. Eventually it gets easier to run further and at some point you will realize the finish line is attainable and within a reasonable time frame. I pulled off a 10k last month and am now signed up for a half-marathon (with plenty of time to train). There’s nowhere to go but up now.

My perspective next year might actually be from the point of view of a participant, where I’ll be up even later than I am now trying to force my brain to shut off and go to sleep long enough to get at least 4 solid hours. We’ll see.

Best efforts to anyone and everyone participating in tomorrow’s ~26.2 miler. You show me how it’s done and I’ll hand you some refreshment and a kind word to help you on your way.

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