26.2 miles later and I was barely able to stand, but I managed to finish off the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I must confess, I seriously considered stopping at the half-way point at mile 13 and congratulating myself on running a half-marathon. In fact, there were several stops where I was really tempted just to collapse and wait for the medics to arrive. I thought of different stories and lies I could tell people, I tried to make excuses for myself that would make an incomplete marathon a victory. I thought of girl on the metro who asked me out to brunch on Sunday…I knew where she’d be and she would have been impressed with my showing up. I thought of all the different things I could be doing on a gorgeous Sunday morning instead of running on a bad knee (which by mile 20 was two bad knees and a hip that hated me).
But in the end it sortof dawned on me that choices—the ones that really matter—really aren’t much of a choice at all. It’s weighing what’s important against something that seems like fun and seems really cool. I’ve been running and training for this marathon since June. I knew that I was capable of finishing this thing one way or another and I knew that I wouldn’t be happy with myself unless I did it. And that was that. Suddenly the girl was nice, but this was nicer. A beautiful day turned even more awe-inspiring when I was running and feeling the breeze against my face. And all those people cheering and yelling out encouraging things? They were doing it for me. And so, regardless of the pain (holy crap did it hurt by mile 20) and all my reasons to quit, I finished my first marathon. And it was incredible. Hearing the marines encourage me to finish it up, feeling the crowds telling me that there was just a little more to do…it was a proud moment for me.
And I’ll be back next year.