My husband has been asking “Why am I doing the marathon?” Some of the people with whom he has shared his wife’s endeavor have said that his wife is crazy.  Who in their right mind even wants to go out and run 26.2 miles?  Why would anyone put their self through that when they don’t have to? These are the things people have said to him about this event.  Answering this question is not as easy as one might think.  You feel the answer in your soul, but putting it in simple words that communicate the reason fully, takes some reflection. And so I have been reflecting. Exactly why am I doing the marathon? It’s starting to become much more clear now……

First of all, I set a goal that I was going to do a marathon the year of 2010. I declared it. I said it without leaving any room for escape. I didn’t say “maybe I would do a marathon in 2010”.  I didn’t say “If training goes well I will do it”.  I didn’t say “If I felt like it, I would do it”. I didn’t say “If the stars align and the planets are in harmonious revolutions” or anything out of this world like that! I just simply said “I AM going to do a marathon in 2010”. Plain and simple and being one of those people who still believe in keeping your word, I have to do it. I don’t know if you have watched the movie John Q. with Denzel Washington, but in that movie he keeps his word and he makes a big point that the importance of that one thing….means tremendous difference in your character.  It was a good movie and a great reminder of a simple truth. So I am keeping my word.

The other reasons are more difficult to put in words but I am going to give a go at it.  So hang in there with me…this is going to be specific to being a woman to begin with, but then I hope that even men will be able to identify what I mean by the end.  We women do lots of things to ourselves. We put on acrylic nails (some of us regularly some of us randomly). We highlight our hair. We tan our bodies. We go shopping for new clothes, new shoes, and new makeup. We even sometimes apply fake eyelashes and fake hair and fake eye colors. Why do we do these things? Truly, what’s the bottom line? Most of us would say because we want to feel good about ourselves. And for awhile it works, but it often feels short lived and if we are totally honest about it, we know it’s all fake. The opposite of real is fake, right?  I came across a saying in one of the Runner’s World magazines that was made by a woman and it went like this “I started to understand that my body was an instrument and not an ornament”.  Wow.  That is pretty deep when you stop to think about it. Do we treat our bodies as ornaments or instruments? Do we try to see what our bodies our truly capable of? Do we push ourselves to the limits or do we short change our physical capabilities day in and day out? It made me stop and think. God gave us a powerful and amazing body. What are we doing with it?

So I began to ponder these things and the real answer began to form, it began to be truly clear. In our country, everything has become easy. Most of us are blessed beyond our comprehension. We have all the things we need and most of what we want. For the majority of us, we enjoy good health…taking it for granted and not knowing when mercy and good fortune may run out. How many of us have been faced with giving all that we have and then having to give more? Physically? Mentally? I want to know what I am made of. I want to know if I have the mental tenacity to push beyond exhaustion, to find strength when my body has given all it has. I want to know if I CAN do it. Well, maybe I am crazy, lol! But even if someone thinks it’s crazy…..that’s okay. I admire people who are breaking out of molds, doing the things they truly want to do regardless of the opinions of others. So in summary, these are the reasons I am going to do the marathon in less than 2 weeks:

1) Because I gave my word.
2) Because I do believe the body is an instrument, wonderful and capable of amazing feats! Not just an ornament to be decorated….
3) Because I want to see what I am made of when it comes to endurance and finding an inner strength that I haven’t had to find before.

I am excited about completing my first marathon on June 26, 2010. I don’t know how many of those miles I will run, or how many I may have to walk. But one thing is for sure, I know why I am doing it, and I know I will do everything with in my power to finish it. God willing, I will finish it!