I recently finished my first half marathon. Those are words I never expected to be able to write. What surprises me most about the sentence is that I included the word "first", thereby indicating that there will be a second, third and fourth race in my lifetime.
I shared my training with a friend and fellow urbanmom, and since the run I’ve had many friends ask about my race, and comment about their upcoming marathon, 10K race, triathlon, etc. Running is not a new trend, but training for (what I consider significant) races seems to be gaining in popularity among the mothers I’ve been talking to, and I think I’ve figured out the appeal.
For weeks after the completion of my race I was on what I first attributed to "a runner’s high". I had such a sense of achievement and strength that I felt I could take on the world. Reflection has made me realize that this "high" is not a result of the completion of 21 kilometers of running, but the fact that six months ago I set a goal for myself and on May 11 I met that goal.
As wives, mothers, employees, and women we face challenges every day, and most often each evening we’re left feeling that we did the best we could in spite of circumstances beyond our control.
I think as I struggle with a toddler who is ambivalent about toilet training, bang my head against the wall while I coerce my nine-year son to do his homework, and try to work with the deadbeats on my various committees at work; it’s a huge sense of relief to know there’s a goal out there over which I am ultimately omnipotent..
That’s why I’ll aim for another finish line this Fall, and I think that’s the appeal of these races to the women I know.
For me, marathon training is all about the hours I get alone, bym myself, with no one else, out on the road, jsut me and my ipod, aaaaaaaahhhhh!
Congratulations, Jen! What a huge accomplishment! You are right. Sometimes we need something that we achieve on our own. That we have full control over and can work towards. Something we can pat ourselves on the back for and say “you did it!”
So, have you registered for race #2 yet??