In less than 6 days I will "run" 13.1 miles. I agreed to do this very spur of the moment, to honor the lost life of a friend of a friend. I met Jason Martter only once or twice and have not gotten to know his wife Kirsten very well. But I made a commitment to do this - and I honor my commitments.
This has been a very trying and painful experience. I am not a runner, although I've tried from time to time, but it was just too hard. When I first started training, I had a big scare - complete with shortness of breath and chest pains. After about 6 weeks of doctor appointments, aggressive asthma treatment and a battery of tests - my team of doctors determined that my heart is fine, but I have pretty bad asthma, which I never realized. I lost 7 weeks of training and still was determined to do this.
So four weeks ago, I got serious about training - pushing myself very hard to increase my distance by two miles per week. I have arthritis in my knees and the pain is unbelievable. But I have not stopped. I am only on the fringes of the "running" group and have not been included in the camaraderie they share. I am very slow and I have to walk on occasion. I have trained alone, running with others only three times, I have had to provide my own encouragement despite all of my obstacles. The feeling of being alone on this journey has been the hardest. I have always felt like an outsider and this experience is once again, no different.
I will be in Savannah. I will run to honor someone I didn't really know. But I also run because I can and it will be the last time I run this distance. The training has been brutal. I will earn my 13.1 sticker for the back of my car. And while I know that everyone else training for this has worked hard for their accomplishment - I've worked hard too. Alone. No one gives a shit about that, but me.
