A lesson in self importance

Days pass, weeks pass, and I think, "Why haven't I blogged about anything lately?" Could be that I've been so wrapped up in my own "center of the universe" mentality that I've forgotten someone out there may actually benefit from my thoughts and/or experiences. Or it could be that I'm a lazy ass and never got around to it... I vote for this explanation (because I'm not looking to make an excuse).

I ran/hobbled the Air Force Marathon last weekend. Ran the first 21 miles, then watched the knots in my calves expand to the point where I could see the damn things through the calf sleeves I was wearing. Five miles of walking later, with multiple cups of fluids at every stop, and I was able to trot my way through the last quarter mile and finish with a mind-blowing time of 5 hours, 24 minutes, 12 seconds. Rah me.

I'm not happy about that time. Nor am I happy about the skinny little female 30-something officer in my building who ran another marathon that same weekend in around 4:42... oh, and thanks for mentioning you were sick the week before smart ass; apparently they don't teach Ego 101 in OTS. It's been hard for me to wrap my head around what's keeping me from finishing these runs strong... maybe because I keep coming back to me.

I once wrote (and repeated out loud many times) that the selfishness of running was not in my nature. Figuring it would catch up with me eventually, I just kept plodding away until it came time to address it. Now's that time.

The selfishness of distance running really can't be explained properly to those who aren't doing it. Non-runners see it as any one of a number of definitions of crazy... "Why spend three hours on the road running further than I chose to drive in a day, Kev?" But it's not just the time pounding the pavement. It's the mental prep, the meals, spending a few hours enjoying panelists' commentary at an expo event, the countless searches for new training techniques, and, of course, the expense of new shoes, clothing, supplements, gels and whatever else we need to get the job done as close to "right" as we can.

I feel like I should apologize to those who take backseats when I'm trying to focus on my events. Not because of the time I spend away or not responding to texts, phone calls or emails (BTW, whatever did we do BEFORE the advent of cell phones? I'd kill for those times again). More to the point, the apology should be for my poor-ass showings at these runs.

I'm running the Denver Rock 'n' Roll Inaugural Half Marathon in mid-October... if I don't finish sub-2 hours I may have to reconsider this hobby. I'm just not this important.

Peace, love, and a huge dose of humility... it does the body good,
Your current keeper of the DD Form ID10T