Wohoo, look at me! I’m a guest blogger! Well, if there was anything I have ever hated more than running, it is writing. The fact that I am writing this should tell you just how much influence my old friend has over me. In fact, you may notice that as a recurring theme throughout this entry.
Let me start at the beginning of this adventure. I have known the owner of this blog since our days in middle school. We had many of the same classes and extra-curriculars on through high school and I’d consider us friends throughout that time, even though we ran mostly in different social circles. Long-story short, we both graduate and go off on our separate paths…little did either of us realize just how much we would mean to each other a couple decades later.
With the exception of a brief reconnection about 13 years ago, we really didn’t get to see each other or chat at all until the social media explosion of the mid-to-late 2000’s. And other than some friendly FB comments here and there and birthday wishes, it really wasn’t until that last couple of years that we really started chatting a lot. Add Words with Friends to the mix, and now we were practically attached at the hip, even though our hips are nearly 900 miles apart. I guess it is probably better described as being attached at the smartphone.
What does this all have to do with running a marathon? Don’t worry, I’m getting to that…
A little over a year ago, after having run the Twin Cities 10 Mile 4 years in a row (despite my hatred of running), I had a failed attempt at a 5th year in a row. I couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm, couldn’t even manage a measly 3-mile training run, and ultimately didn’t run the race. I started looking for alternatives for staying in shape and it was then that I discovered hot yoga. I could sweat, burn a bunch of calories, and not have to run to do it? Hell yeah, I was hooked!
A few weeks into my yoga practice, I made very public proclamations to anyone within earshot (including my wife) that I was NEVER running again. And I meant N-E-V-E-R! What do they say about never saying “never”?
Soooo…a short time later while chatting with my old-friend-turned-new-BFF, she (the avid runner) says to me via iMessage that she really wants to do a marathon soon. Aha! Here’s just the opening I was looking for. As brilliant as I am, I suggest that she come to visit me and run the Twin Cities Marathon that my company sponsors every October. I’ll even cover her entry fee if she does, I propose. Super excited at the prospect, I get just the response I was hoping for. She says “That’s a great idea…”…terrific! I couldn’t be more psyched!... “…on ONE condition…”…uh oh, what did I just step in?... “…you’ve got to run it with me!”
And thus began my training for a marathon. First step? How to explain to everyone, including my wife, that I just agreed to run a marathon when I just vowed a couple weeks earlier that I would never run again. Little did I know this would not be the only out-of-character-for-me thing that would require explaining…
…to be continued
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