What's In Your Wallet

The last two years have been a long, strange ride. I went from Ironman strong to couch potato weak. I went from Ironman committed to having to force myself to get even a couple of workouts a week. And yes, I know there was a very good excuse. I understand that letting go of my training life was what I needed during that time. But life is hitting a nice flat spot. The down times, the tough times are coming few and farther between and over the past two months I have been able to train in a way that is truly base building. And thanks to the years of marathon training my body knows where we are heading and can still get me there. That experience, that knowledge, that’s what’s in my wallet.

Last year when Meg and I walked out 24-hour Walk for Suicide Prevention, we did not train. We survived but we knew that if we were to do it again we would have to train the next time. Last month we started training. We started with 4 hours of continuous walking and have built up to seven hours. Walking with Meg definitely makes seven hours on my feet less daunting. Together we may be the goofiest people in the state.

Unfortunately this weekend Meg had a game at the only time we could fit seven hours in. Being slightly older than Meg I did not feel like I could skip the workout. I would just have to gut it out without here. As I prepared for the walk, the forecast came in, 5-8 inches of snow. Nope. I know my friends in Boston will find me wimpy for this but NOPE, not gonna do it. Instead, I went inside. Seven hours on the treadmill.

I did it. I got it in and managed to eek out a marathon in the process. Twenty-six point two miles in seven hours on the treadmill. That’s what’s in my wallet. Not because I am a badass. Not because I am one tough mama. But because after I completed my first hour I did the math and realized that although outside I had planned 22 miles, inside I had to walk faster and that fast meant I could come very close to completing a marathon. And finally, knowing that I could do 26.2 miles meant not just feeling like I should but knowing I would. That’s what’s in my wallet. The knowledge that I can, the ability to do it and the will to get it done.

I have often said that the marathon is a gift. It is an incredible experience. But beyond that it is a gift in the courage, confidence and abilities that it gives us.