On December 25, 2005 I was invited to participate in the 2007 Disneyworld Marathon to be held on January 7, 2007. At the time of the invitation I was not a runner but I felt certain that in a year plus I would certainly be able to whip my once rock hard body into that of a runner. So on December 26, I purchased a running book authored by John "the penguin" Bingham (great choice). Next I purchased a pair of Nike running shoes and the rest is history. That first year of running taught this aging, bald, stocky "want to be" that perhaps I waited to long to tackle the training necessary to complete 26.2 miles. Now that I paid the entry fee, booked the room, and paid for the flight I felt somewhat committed to follow through with the plan. By the way, I guess I should mentioned that a younger brother was responsible for putting the idea in my mind in the first place. My family and I love Disneyworld and I happened to have overheard him telling other family members of his marathon plans. So I decided to take this opportunity to invite myself to join the marathon and visit Disney at the same time. The year was filled with ups and downs. The ups were getting out of bed and the downs were everything else. Come on, how hard can it be to put one foot in front of another for 26.2 miles. How many steps can that be. I mean everyday I walk somewhere: to the kitchen, to the garage, at work and to bed. How can this be any different, its just a few more steps? Had I read all of John's book before I started to train I would have known how many steps were in a mile. I hold him somewhat responsible for my pain and suffering that first year because his insight was not included in the first 10 pages of his book.
Also, I wish someone would have mentioned to me that the training was going to be expensive. I assumed that the equipment costs would be nominal and more then likely I already owned what I needed, Shoes, socks, shorts, and sweatshirts, the four S'es. My brother soon burst that bubble. So off to the local "Second Sole" and some $200 plus later I emerged with a pair of Nikes and "dry fit" shirt. That was the extent of my running budget the first year, remember this was soon after Christmas. I realized on December 27th that the Ohio winters were not going to allow my budget to stand, so back to the store for some serious equipment. Now I was ready to run. Day after day, week after week, month after month I was pounding the pavement wondering when "this" was going to get easier. Well John, it never did, so on I go. In the middle of May, my brother, suggested that we consider running in a half marathon to test my skills and for some reason I agreed and thought that it was a good idea. What was I thinking? Before the run I felt that I needed to approach the sporting good store that sold me my shoes to complain about the slope that seemed to have developed in the heal of each shoe. I was asked how long it had been since the shoes were purchased and after a few chuckles I was told that they were worn out. Worn out, I have shoes that are 10 years old that arn't warn out. I was then encouraged to set up a payment plan where I send them a check for $50 each month and they send me a pair of new shoes. I now have at least 10 pairs of shoes at all times sitting on my basement floor waiting for the 10 year expiration date to arrive so that I can get rid of them. The day of the half marathon arrived and I found myself on the starting line wondering why by brother would ever put me in that kind of position. My major concern was if I was going to be able to memorize the route just in case I was that far behind everyone. Well to my surprise, I finished the run (I don't feel fast enough to call it a race) in less then 2 hours. I now display the medal proudly on the wall in my office. A few days after the run I decided that it was probably not a good idea that I ran in this run, all I could think of is the pain in my legs and the additional 13 miles I have yet to run to complete a full marathon. After a few phone calls I realized that no one would refund the money that I shelled out for the Disney Marathon, so on I run. Not much changed over the next 7 months. A step was still a step and a mile was still a mile but never easier then the week or month before. I never did officially determine how many steps are in a marathon but I now realize its a lot. Beside my brother, a number of people are happy that I ran the marathon: Nike (love the shoe), Second Sole ( extremely professional), my doctor (your to old to do this) and a number of clothing stores. All was going extremely good until I decided to go for a short run the week before the Marathon. Thinking I could dash across a busy street I took one step and bingo the old hamstring started to sing. I quickly turned around, headed home, dressed, headed to the doc and hoped for the best. Other then him saying your to old to do this, I didn't get much relief, so off I go. Disney was wonderful.
The run started just fine until mile 8, at which time I jumped in the air with a hamstring issue that kept me company for about 18 miles. Thank goodness my brother stayed with me the whole time. At one point I turned to him and said that no matter what happens make sure I finish this "damn" run. He did, I did and I have the medal to prove it and I am sticking to that story on the "Sweet side of 65".
