Tuesday, 9 July 2013

I'm running. Well, not right this minute. I'm typing on a computer. But I've decided to run the Chicago Marathon with my brother Chris. I'm a few weeks into the formal training program. It's something I decided several months ago and has been a "bucket list" item for years. The biggest challenge when making a decision to do something physical at age 45 is competing with your former self. That's what has caused problems before - at ages 40, 33, 32 and 30 when I went through this.

See, when you're younger, your BODY is what tells you you're not able to go any faster. Your legs say, "DUDE, you can WANT to go faster all you want, but we're not going any faster than we are right now." When you get older, your legs stop talking to you, apparently giving you the silent treatment for ignoring them when you were younger. And the mind gets in the way. "Now, now. Don't try to go too fast. Remember about your calf / knee / achilles / plantar fascia / big toe. If you push too hard, you won't be able to get out of bed." And then there's another voice in your head that says, "BUT I'M AN ATHLETE! I CAN CONQUER THE WORLD!" That's when Louis CK pops into my head and says, "You're NOT an athlete."

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"Ok, ok, ok. I'm NOT an athlete. But man, back in the DAY . . . "

And those voices go back and forth.

With every passing week, the strong voice gets stronger. This past week, it was crazy enough to tell me I should push to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Not in Chicago. Not this October. But soon.

Then I did the math to figure what it'd take to qualify as a 45-year old. Then I realize again, I'm NOT an athlete.

Yet.