To Hell and Back

You'd think running a half marathon the second time around would be easier than the first, but that notion was a bit wrong.

Between the insistent pounding my body was getting from wearing Vibram Fivefingers (those funny toe shoes so many hippies wear – not saying that I am one), and the monotonous miles that passed underfoot, the half marathon I ran in Maryland in October was fun, but just with some Hellish bits built in.  Oh – and that little fact I felt like I had been hit by a truck for having a sinus and ear infection; that one I didn't even know about.  But that's what I get, I suppose, when the stress of school catches up with the hundreds of miles cross country season demands of you.

Don't get me wrong!  I love my Fivefingers (yes, I will defend those shoes to the day I die).  I used to run with so many aches and pains, pulls and strains, that I thought nothing would help.  After reading Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run", I was convinced, converted, and completely in love with barefoot running.  I laced up my Vibram Fivefingers, and spent all summer in the US of A and Canada wandering in those shoes.

Half marathons in Fivefingers, though, are a completely different ballgame.  I would never in my life suggest to someone who runs — even serious ones like ultramarathoners — to go out and run an ultra in Fivefingers on her first day in them.  That is just a stupid, stupid idea.  Start out with walking down your driveway and back, and work up from there.  You will feel muscles you didn't even know you had.  And it will be Hell.  How about that, readers — minimalist opinion in a nutshell. Now onto the actual race:

Half marathons are the new iPhone — the thing all Americans are obsessed with, even though some of them don't know why.  For most, training takes months; others go out on a whim and just decide to run 13.1 miles (aka my brother).

During the race, however, those thousands of people running like a flowing stream towards the finish line is beyond inspiring.  Those people triumph up hills and around lakes with you, and by the end, you feel a special connection with your fellow compadres.  Now, the people on the sidelines are the ones who make the race really interesting: the candy handouts, shoutouts to random strangers, high-five lines, and math problems held high on poster boards.  It gives you something to think about during the Heaven and Hell that is a half marathon, but it is even better when Hell has food.

My suggestion on these half-crazy races are this: do it for a reason.   Whether its for a personal achievement, or for a cause, so much good can come out of this running-mania.  I find it absolutely amazing when people are running for others — thousands wearing shirts raising money for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure shirts along other organizations.  There can be an awesome cause waiting for you to raise money for, so make those miles matter.

And run for the sticker.  Cars with 13.1 stickers on them are cool.

There ya go, readers.  I'm trying to switch up this blog a bit.  And to the Canadian readers who seem to be checking in frequently – thank you.  This blog is just getting off the ground, so every bit helps!