Marathon Training = Showing Up For Myself

I got up at early this morning, 7 a.m. to be exact, despite having gone to bed a mere four hours earlier. I ate a piece of toast with peanut butter, drank a large cup of Earl Grey tea, discovered that my iPod was not charged, threw on some clothes and shoes, did not comb my hair... and then left the house, headed for Santa Monica.

The clothing was a pair of workout pants and a shirt from my running club, the LA Leggers. The shoes were my running shoes, which have not, other than the 5K I did with my sister and a few jogs around the neighborhood, seen much activity over the past month.

Santa Monica was the destination because the Leggers train along the coast. If you've never experienced it, let me tell you, it's very relaxing to hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore while you're running. However, I didn't hear those waves for long this morning because we only ran a short distance. We went from the Santa Monica Senior Center, north to the Totem Pole, and then back again to where we'd begun. Total distance? Three miles.

There were a few other returning club members, but most of the folks were newbies, excited to run their first race, unsure if they could really do it. Scared to hear that our distance next Saturday is going to be four miles.

So why go back for another go at running the Los Angeles Marathon? There are things like wanting a better finishing time and liking getting a medal at the end, but I can only answer that having to take the time to run grounds me. It keeps me sane, and, um, I like running.

I feel terribly odd admitting that I like running, especially since I know so many people hate it, but it's true. I like it because it makes me feel better, and it is one of the few things I have going on in my life where I don't have to show up for anybody else but myself.

Training for marathons gives me an excuse to make myself a priority. The training runs are unskippable because if you don't train consistently, you can't really run a race without hurting yourself. No matter what else is going on in my life, sorry, I have to go run because, ahem, there's the Los Angeles Marathon on March 21, 2010 on my horizon.

If you live in LA, it's not too late to join the Leggers. I promise, everyone is really, really nice and will help you finish every single mile. Even if you have to walk it in, someone will be there to cheer you on! If you aren't here in LA, I'm sure there's a similar running club wherever you are. Even if you just want to run 5Ks or half-marathons, there is a running future for you. I'm sure of it.

So here's to more running, and more running, and the loads of even more running sure to come!