By now most of you know I recently completed the Rochester marathon in 4 hours and 23 minutes. Honestly, the time doesn't mean anything to me. However, the fact that I crossed the finish line means everything. I would like to share two things that I took away from the race this past weekend. The first is what true inspiration really is, and the second thing is why I ran the entire race.
First off, inspiration is different for all of us, but I feel when you run a marathon you experience a variety of causes. Here are the top 10 things that inspired me during my marathon (in order of the race).....
1) Running behind a beautiful brunette name Brittany for miles 2 - 5 and enjoying the scenery the entire time. Then seeing her friends and family cheering her on about 6 times all over the course and remembering how hot she was. I almost stopped to give her friends my phone number and tell her to call me.
2) The guy wearing the kilt at mile 7 that told me he wasn't wearing anything underneath. I am pretty sure that is the worst chafing you could possibly get ever!
3) The 60 year old man at mile 12 that was keeping up with the 4 hours 15 minute pace bunny. I can only dream to be his age and in that good of shape to run a marathon. If he can run a marathon you really lose any excuse you might have to not finish.
4) The cute girl at mile 18 that was bent over stretching her muscles providing scenery for everyone running by.
5) The spectators with motivational signs all over the course.
6) Seeing my sister-in-law and nieces at mile 22 and remembering why I was running the marathon.
7) Rocking out to thunderstruck at mile 24 and thinking of all my friends who were probably at the Bills game playing drinking games to the same song.
8) The bracelets I wore on each arm in honor of my mother and best friend Shawn.
9) Michael Jackson's Billie Jean coming on my ipod as I saw the 1.2 miles left sign on the course
10) Knowing as I came down the final home stretch that I got to share the day with friends and family and champagne was waiting for me to celebrate.
Like I said inspiration sometimes comes in weird forms, but these little things helped me finish.
My original goal for the marathon was to finish at all costs regardless of injuries, but as I got through it I started to realize I might be able to run the entire thing. Now first of all I would like to share a disclaimer. There is nothing wrong with walking during a marathon. In fact, everyone walks through the water stations unless you are an idiot or trying to win the marathon. Most of the people I know walked a significant portion of their first marathon for various reasons. However, I fortunately did not hit a wall until mile 20. I say fortunately, because had I hit the wall any earlier I am not sure I would have been mentally tough enough to run the entire race. There were two things that got me through the final 6.2 miles. The first inspiration was seeing my nieces at mile 22. I am convinced had I not seen their faces at mile 22 I would have given up and started walking. The reason they inspired me is because I wanted to prove something to them when they grow up. I wanted to show them that there are no limits in life and anything is possible if you work hard enough. When they grow up I can honestly tell them that I ran an entire marathon despite originally thinking I would never be able to (I just assumed I would have to walk a few miles). To often in life we try to inspire people with words, but most of the time they are nothing more than that just words. I figured by acting out what hard work really is I would always have a concrete example to show them in life. Looking back I honestly do not know how I ran from mile 22 to 26.2. Every fiber in my body was screaming at me to stop and walk. I had absolutely no energy left, no calories to burn, and no adrenaline to rely on. It came down to my will power to succeed versus my body. My sister-in-law played a huge part in my ability to finish as well. After I saw her at mile 22 she drove to mile 23 and beeped the horn for encouragement. As small a gesture as this was it reconfirmed my drive to set an example as an uncle. In the end I didn't leave anything on the table to finish later. If you ever want to really know how mentally tough you are I suggest you run mile 22 to 26.2 of a marathon, because after that you will have a good idea.
Six months ago I couldn't even run 2 miles. Do not ever doubt your own abilities. Limits exist only in the mind.
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