It's A Mystery! It's Magic! It's The Marathon!

Here we are again, another Thursday! You know what that means! It's Runners' Lounge Take It and Run Thursday with this week's theme being "Why Don't They Get It - The Marathon Explained!" I have this to share on that topic:

After completing my first marathon in 2001, I said "never again"! Time passed, not too much time. We forget so easily. I signed up to run another one. After completing my second marathon in 2002, I said "never again"! Time passed, a lot of time this time around, life got in the way. Now I am signed up to run my third marathon!

I remember saying "never again" both times. I even remember the reasons why I said that. I remember I got many blisters on my feet. I remember hitting the wall. I remember my toe nails turned black and eventually fell off. I remember my legs hurt whenever I walked for a few days after. I remember being an emotional wreck. I remember every muscle, bone, tendon, ligament hurt!

But what I remember so vividly even more so, was how I felt when my foot landed on the mat at the finish line and I heard that sweet chirp! What I experienced mentally at that split second in time is why I am willing to go through all this (what some would call torture and agony) all over again.

Imagine how long a second is! Not long, is it! It passes with the blink of an eye! Packed into that split second in time when I hit the finish line of the marathon, I felt such a great sense of accomplishment. I felt like I could fly and like I could take on the world. I felt jubilation and triumph. I felt the confirmation of my strength, will-power, determination, fortitude and my ability to conquer. No other experience in my life, so far, as been comparable to this euphoria.

I want to live another one of those split seconds!

To truly understand what I am trying to explain, you would have to walk a mile in my shoes, or I mean, you would have to run 42.2 kilometers in your runners, cross the finish line and then watch out!