How did I get here?

Twenty years ago, I didn’t even have an idea of running one marathon. Let alone coming up on 25 of them. It was 2004, I had entered my forties, and like everyone approaching their mid-life crisis, I started to evaluate my life. Things I’d done. More accurately the things I hadn’t.  I remembered seeing something about the first Ironman triathlon on TV growing up. I thought that was pretty amazing. Perhaps I could work towards that. I’d improve my fitness that’s for sure. That would please my family physician. 

I decided I would start small to see if I liked it, and go from there. I signed up for the first Buffalo, MN sprint triathlon, found an online training plan and started training. 

Everything was going well until two weeks before the start. Out on a training ride, I got too close to a crumbling road shoulder, fell and broke my collarbone.

Two weeks from race day!

I was pretty upset. All that hard work and training was for nothing. On top of that I was signed off work for six weeks. All I could do was sit at home and feel sorry for myself.

A few weeks later, my brother-in-law, Jeff, was running Grandma’s marathon. He had started training for marathons at the same time as I started on triathlons. He then gravitated to triathlon, completing a dozen Ironman, including Kona, while I switched to running from doing triathlons.

My wife and I went up to Duluth to cheer him on. I sat on a lawn chair on the finishing straight, my arm in a sling, still feeling sorry for myself. 

That was until I saw a young woman run past with her arm in a sling! She was running the half marathon.

She was running with her arm in a sling! 

I immediately stopped feeling sorry for myself. After the race, we went home. Pretty much as soon as we got back, I changed, strapped up my arm tightly and went for a run. Just a couple of miles, but there was no pain. I could run again! 

Naturally, the next thing to do was find a marathon to run. The Twin Cities marathon was already full, but there was a marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin in the fall. The Whistlestop. 

We have friends that live in Ashland. We had a marathon. We had accommodation. 

For a few years, I ran various triathlons and the Whistlestop marathon. That was until I got to the half Ironman distance. It was then I discovered I would never be a strong enough or confident enough swimmer to do an Ironman. I switched to marathons and never looked back.

Marathon has given me so many memorable experiences. Good and not so good. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve listened to experienced marathoners, I’ve ignored what experienced runners have told me and paid the price. 

I’m 60 now and retired. I’ve matured as a runner. I’ve left my best years and PB’s behind me, so there’s no pressure. It’s all about the joy of running now. 

I think about the woman with her arm in a sling sometimes. Is she still running?