yes we did

I ran my first marathon.

Katharine reminded me that just a few years back I called marathoners certifiable. The very same Katharine who I convinced to run 26.2 miles with me this past Sunday (her fourth marathon) and who at one point put out her hand to pull me along (my jog was threatening to peter into a walk). That's friendship: I call you crazy and then rope you into my craziness and then make you cheerlead so that I can finish the craziness. I heart Katharine.

I wasn't sure I was going to start the race much less finish it. A few weeks ago, I hurt my foot during a run. So my recent training consisted of hours on the elliptical listening to romance audiobooks. Not exactly what Hal Higdon had in mind. But even if I had been in better shape, I'm pretty sure I would have nudged close to my physical limit. At mile 13 I was high on endorphins. At mile 16 I finally understood the meaning of low-blood sugar. At mile 22 I was counting my breaths between bouts of cursing my goal-oriented self.

When we stopped for burritos after the race, I had to use the handicap grab bar to lower myself onto the toilet. I'm still limping and downing ibuprofen like there's no tomorrow.

So, what did I learn from this arbitrary test of physical endurance?

1. I have amazing friends. Greg picked me up at 5 am to take me to the starting line. Ryan R drove the devoted crew around the city and handed me a shot of Gu at a critical point. Ashley was in command of logistics and, with her usual sunshine, raised the crowd's cheer quotient. Ryan E took a break from bar exam prep to give us high-fives. Summer held up a poster while executing Laker-worthy high kicks. As Ryan wrote in his account of completing an Ironman (2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run), "There’s a special place in heaven for those who cheer on marathon runners. And Summer is the mayor of this area of heaven." Rebecca, Meredith and Ellie joined us for a mile or two at just the right moment, i.e. when it was my turn to entertain Kath with stories but could no longer simultaneously jog and talk. And Evan, dear Evan, ran alongside me in jeans and a sweater around miles 25 & 26, when I could only grunt in response to the much-needed enthusiasm. Kath's parents, Brian and June, hosted a celebration BBQ afterwards. Thank you!!

2. It's more 'mind over mind' than 'mind over matter.' It was painful when I hit the dreaded wall (twice), but much worse were the moments that I allowed myself to ask...what if? What if I walked a bit? What if I hadn't told my thousand best friends about my plan to run? What if I'd bowed out due to injury? I had to continually bring my mind back to the moment, to the task at hand. This is more than the New Agey power of positive thinking, though sometimes you need a booster of that too. To finish a marathon you need to cultivate mental discipline, a skill I find more difficult and valuable than its physical counterpart.

3. Well, I wouldn't be me if there weren't some meaning-of-life lesson too. The Buddhist version of 'death and taxes' is that we cannot escape old age, sickness and death. And, no matter how far our medical technology advances, there will always be pain. In Buddhism, you learn through practice and observation that we also always have a choice towards it.

The Buddha once asked a student, "If a person is struck by an arrow is it painful?" The student replied, "It is." The Buddha then asked, "If the person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?" The student replied again, "It is." The Buddha then explained, "In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. This second arrow is optional."

To face pain with grace takes a lot of practice. I'm not encouraging people to seek it out; we're surrounded by enough material as it is. For me, though, it's helpful to have a physical activity as training grounds for bypassing that second arrow. It's also key to have amazing friends along the way (see #1).

Have I signed up for the next marathon? No, my body is still feeling exactly how high-impact running is. I told Katharine that I miss cross-training and that we should consider a Half Ironman. She says that even she's not that crazy. We'll see about that.