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ONE MILE TO GO. |
On the Run Again
BY KATHRINE SWITZER
Two months ago, I ran my first marathon in 34 years, and just
for the record, the endorphins are still surging. I ran the Mototapu
Icebreaker mountain run in the South Island of New Zealand, and
I still cant wipe the grin off my face. To tell you the
truth, this feels almost as good as seeing a book youve
been writing for years finally published.
When its been a long time--and 34 years is quite a while!--you
cant quite believe youve done it. My book, Marathon
Woman, took almost that long, too, as I kept writing, and then
would put it away. I just wasnt ready to go that deep again
in both cases. It hurts to plumb the depths, physically or emotionally,
but really, pain is only temporary and fascinating is forever.
And now Im ready to go again, because in writing or
running, empowerment from doing it builds confidence and takes
away the fear of pain or failure.
Ive known this all my life; I lecture on it, I write
about it
but when it comes to yourself, its a new
story. Ive learned a lot about myself from this difficult
marathon, and its both hilarious and eye-opening.
I had a 50-year base of running a few times a week, for about
an hour. But for this, I seriously cranked up the consistency
and the long runs. I took it seriously and had done at least
8 runs over 3 hours, 2 over 4, and one at 5 ½, wearing
a backpack loaded with the emergency gear I needed to carry on
the run and doing them all on rough, rocky, and hilly tracks. At
63, I can assure you it was not the same powerful body I remembered
when I was running well at 28. I slogged away diligently, but
I was still nervous as hell; was it enough? The Mototapu is one
of New Zealands toughest races; its not about time,
its about doing it.
(Continued...) |