These were not the feelings that I expected one week after my first marathon.
I thought that I’d feel like a king for a lot longer.
I thought that I’d be able to maintain a zen-like calm in the presence of frustration.
I thought that no challenge would seem to great.
I thought that I’d feel differently about myself.
I thought that I’d be treated differently.
During a five-mile run this weekend I realized that I’m still just Dave.
I thought that would bother me.
I thought I should have felt like so much more.
Marathon planning has consumed me for over a year. I was in awe of people who finished one. I’d go out on a 7 mile run and wonder how anyone could make it 26.2. The people who run 26.2 must have some super-human ability that I lacked.
Now that I’m one of those people, I realize that I’m not super-human. I’m just me. I put my mind and body into something and I accomplished it, but it didn’t make me any better or worse than I was a month ago.
I still take out the garbage. I still get frustrated when there’s a mess in the house. I still think Michelle leaves the thermostat up too high. I still have bad runs. I still have bad skin and my breath still stinks in the morning.
And I am perfectly OK with that.
… time to go turn up the thermostat. Michelle’s getting up soon and she’ll complain if it’s too cold down here.
4 comments
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November 7, 2006 at 12:34 pm
Ted
Oddly enough, the wife gets mad at me when I put the AC below 73 degrees.
November 8, 2006 at 10:55 pm
burrows
Congrats on going the distance… I felt the same thing after my first race and it was many years before I got the running bug again… now, I find myself always looking forward to my next race, the next trial I put myself through… congrats again… and good luck on your next race 🙂
November 9, 2006 at 6:29 am
Dave Fravel
Thanks so much!
As a matter of fact, my running partners and I are already planning our next races. I think all of us are feeling the exact same way … we need to get out there and run some more.
We’re going to run the Boston Prep Run in January, and we’re making a list of the marathons that we’d like to do next year (@ least one).
November 13, 2006 at 9:04 pm
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