Symbols

It is the perfect morning to go for a long run.  The temperature is just about 50 degrees, warm enough to not need to wear anything more than capris and a long sleeved running shirt, and cold enough to not come home being completely drenched in sweat.  There is no wind, and the sun is out and ready to keep any runner company for the entire run.  If there was a running heaven, this is what the weather would be there.

This perfect running day lines up exactly with my 13 mile long run as I taper for the marathon in 2 weeks.  Nice mileage, great weather – and I’m standing on a train platform.  Instead of running capris and a long sleeved shirt, I have a swimsuit on under my sweats and fall jacket.

A week ago I ran 20 miles, and it was great, amazing, fantastic.  And I haven’t run since.  My foot is hurting too much to keep pounding on it step after step.  So this past week I have done a bazillion deep water runs with a few spin classes thrown in just to keep myself sane (or to at least maintain my current level on the sane/insane spectrum).

After my run last week, I analyzed my situation: three weeks to the marathon, all long training runs complete, no hurricanes in the near forecast.  This could actually happen.  But, my foot hurts like hell.

I’m not going to keep you all in suspense; my blogs are so good that you’ll read to the end without needing a big cliff hanger to keep you going.  I’m running the marathon. I have decided that I’d rather take 6 months off after the marathon if I have to in order for my foot to heal completely  than to take a month off now, heal faster, and miss the marathon that if you want to get technical I’ve been training for for two years now. 

Three weeks between that last 20 mile run and the marathon is a bit too long to go without running at all. So, I decided to split the difference and water run for a week and a half.  In the middle of next week I’ll test it (along with the new pouch I had to buy so I could carry my cell phone, since I do admit there is a possibility of me ending up in a medical tent somewhere in Brooklyn or Queens with my foot snapped in half and needing to call Wil to come and fetch me).  If it feels fine, I’ll run out the last week and a half of my training plan, and if it doesn’t I’ll stick to the sea until November 3^rd.

For now, though, that turns this week’s 13 mile long taper run into a 2-1/2 hour deep water run.  So, on this perfect running day, I’m standing on the platform of the Pelham train station so I can go to my gym in the city and sacrifice 2-1/2 hours of my day doing something only slightly less boring than watching the grass grow.  And I wonder for a second why I’m even bothering.  Why am I being so stubborn about doing a marathon when my foot is so vehemently disagreeing?

But I know the answer.  It’s on my hand.  Some of you (more likely the ones who have seen me in person) have noticed that I wear a silver ring on my right hand and wondered why I’d wear something that clashes so badly with the gold wedding band on my left hand.  Well, the ring symbolizes two things.  One is very personal, and I admit I’m being a bit of a tease here by saying that and not telling you what it is.  But I’ll let you in on the second symbol.  Though you may have noticed the ring itself, I don’t think anyone has ever looked at it closely enough to see the one word that is engraved onto it: “BELIEVE”.

I look at the ring a lot, and each time I think about all the work I have done to get me right where I am.  I don’t just mean training for a marathon.  I’m talking about losing 70 pounds, keeping it off for over 4 years, setting a good example for my two kids.  And I did all of that because I believed in myself and told myself that I could.  And I was right.

Right now the ring is completely tarnished from the many hours it has spent in the pool, but to me it just drives in my own point even further to me.  Sometimes the road to achieving our goals isn’t easy.  Sometimes you have to do it on a set of crutches and take a detour into a swimming pool.  But believe in yourself and you can do an entire marathon, even if it’s going to be the absolutely worst time you will ever have and you've made peace with the fact that the only thing that may be chasing you on the course is the sweep truck.

As I wait for the train (which Metro-North has gotten to running again exactly as it was before the big transportation mess a few weeks ago – constantly late), I look down at my tarnished ring.  I smile down at the word “BELIEVE” and I’m suddenly looking forward to my 2-1/2 hour deep water run.