Gaining Celebrity Status

This whole Boston thing has gotten out of hand. It's amazing how people view this event. I got here accidentally, I was coerced!

There are people who really enjoy marathons (Debbie), and then there are people who do marathons because they are talked into it by their friends who enjoy marathons.

The moment I crossed the finish line in my Boston-qualifying marathon, my soul completely crumbled. I could really have cared less if I qualified, it never even occurred to me that I could qualify for Boston because only fast people qualify for Boston. I had never given it a moment's thought, because running Boston would first mean training to qualify and then training AGAIN to run the damn thing. As I crossed that finish line, the only thing I could think was At least I have another 10 years before I have to do that again. Debbie and I have a pact.

So then word got around and everyone was excited about me qualifying for Boston...except me. Because I still hurt. My body hurt in places I had never felt before and my will to be a runner was completely squashed. Because running sucks. Don't deny it people, it does. You know it and I know it. Don't think for a second that because I qualified for Boston, I am unaware that running sucks. Nope, I'm aware.

I'm even hyper-aware, especially now when we're expecting almost an inch of rain tomorrow and I'm scheduled for a 7 miler. It's gonna be a fast one, let me tell you. But on Sunday I'm running 15 miles...and it's going to rain. I will dress more appropriately however.

Anyway, my main point is that people get the wrong idea about Boston, and marathons in general. You don't have to be an amazing athlete to complete a marathon. Anyone can finish a marathon, I swear this is true. You don't have to be fast, you don't have to be skinny....but you do have to have an indomitable will. Because marathons suck.

In one of my classes, we had an assignment to write a profile of ourselves. I didn't have much to say except that I'm a meteorology grad student working in the Fire Weather Research Lab, I enjoy surfing, swimming, riding my bike, and I'm training for the Boston Marathon.

Because yes, after accepting that I was indeed going to run it, it has become a source of pride for me as well as an explanation for why I would really like it not to rain tomorrow or Sunday (or Saturday for that mater because I was going to do another ride).

When we were introducing ourselves to the rest of the class on the first day, the teacher said "Oh wait, are you the one who qualified for Boston?" Wow. Weird.

Today, during a short break, one girl came up and asked if I was the one who qualified for Boston. She asked about my training runs and wanted to know how many miles I run a day. Well, get this people, I don't run every day. In fact, I only run three times per week. I don't want to hear it. So as we got back into class I was finishing up my mileage explanation, and a couple other girls heard us talking.

One girl asked "What's your favorite marathon to run?"

I laughed. I was stumped. Because see, I don't really like running marathons. I guess on some level I do, but I think I more like that I can. And can do it well. I don't know. They really are miserable though. Not fun. I don't see why so many people think running marathons is so fun. And the day before the marathon when you're walking through the expo and it finally hits you what you're about to do, it makes you sick to your stomach...you can even confirm that with Debbie. And I think Corey was there to witness our instant sickness.

I tried explaining to the girls that I really don't like to run marathons....and I've only done three. And as a matter of fact, after Boston, I'm switching to Triathlons.

"Have you run the New York Marathon?" The girl asked.

"No, I haven't."

"Don't you have to run the NY to get into Boston? I thought you had to run some more prestigious marathons before Boston. I heard that Boston is super selective."

Err..well....I tried to explain that one, but the questions and comments started firing from all directions.

"You should do the San Jose marathon, they have one, it's fun!" (See what I mean)

"Have you done the San Francisco one? You should do it. It's for women only and you get a necklace. It's from Tiffany's."

I told them which marathons I've run.

"Is the San Diego Rock and Roll like the San Jose Rock and Roll?"

"Have you done Big Sur? My mom's done it and says it's really hilly but it's super beautiful".

I personally think getting a necklace from Tiffany's as race swag would be awesome...so I actually may look into that. I'm sorry, but that trumps a t-shirt by far. I think the entry fees might be a little steeper though.

Pretty soon a good chunk of the class was turning around and asking questions and talking about Tiffany's necklaces, marathons and crazy runners. Holy cow. There is a lot of hoopla surrounding the Boston Marathon. I'm definitely excited to be doing it. Not long after I finally gave in to the idea, I bought a book describing last year's Boston. The author was following people leading up to it, in order to write a book about it, and then covered a lot of the aspects of marathon running that spectators don't see. It got me pretty pumped up for it.

But now of course, is time for the not-glamorous stage of training for it. It's misery defined. What I really look forward to, after the marathon is behind me, is getting my toe looked at. There's something going on down there.