Dust Yourself Off and Keep Running
July 24th, 2009 by Ola Powazynska
I joined Train For Humanity in April this year and I was so excited about the idea of combining getting fit and social media in the name of social good that I signed up to run a marathon, even though I couldn’t run more than 3 miles at the time. It wouldn’t be so bad if I had a year to train. But I only had 10 weeks. I know - foolish!
I thought it was foolish from the start, but I also hoped my determination would be enough to make up for my lack of training. But covering 26.2 miles is a long time to wear your determination out if your whole body is rebelling against you. And if the marathon is slowly turning into a walking rather than running event way before the last miles, you know it’s time to humbly admit that, indeed, you were foolish.
Not finishing the marathon was quite an experience. I did not set out to back out in the last miles - does anyone? But I also know that I am capable of running the whole distance. Now that I got the taste of the game, I want to play till the end. I’m having my next chance this fall in Scotland at the Loch Ness Marathon on October 4th, 10 weeks away from now. Foolish?
Perhaps. But I won’t know it until I try it.
Best of luck + determination at Loch Ness, Ola! Should be a beautiful run (I’m envious)!
Thank you, Shannon! Actually, this is why I picked this marathon - for the views :)
Hey Ola, you already got to five kilometers from the finish line last time - I’m sure you’ll make it this time! Good luck, and have fun running!
Thanks, Jarkko, I’m aiming at running with less walking this time!
Don’t worry about not finishing that marathon. They take a lot to work up to. I’ll be running in the Army Ten Miler in Washington D.C. on Oct. 4th and I’ve run in a few other events. They’re certainly a lot of fun and I love that you are doing it for great reasons!
Thanks, Nicholas - yeah, i’ve been running less than 6 months so it’s certainly not a great record for running marathons :) But I’m not concerned too much about my time or speed, just the experience.
Good luck on your race, we’re running on the same day!