marathon update #4
guys, you are going to get so sick of marathon updates. i haven't even registered yet, and i'm excited. there's still seven months left. and my wildest dream is to break four hours.
And paula radcliffe has more guts than any woman who ever lived. holy crap. i've been there: you're in second place, and every fiber of your being is focussed on the heels of the runner in front of you, who has a reputation for her sprint finish. you are not so talented, but you are hanging on, reaching into the depths of your spirit to find the strength to last another second, each one more agonizing than the last. and then, the heartbreak. 400 meters left, and she starts pulling away. you know you aren't slowing down, you know it's her. she's kicked it into high gear. your heart sinks, and your spirit nearly breaks.
i've been there. what i did was i hobbled along gasping and flailing to the finish line, letting the more talented one fly further and further into the distance. not so, paula radcliff. holy shit. i was watching the 1999 World Championship 10000m in which she got 2nd place. there was no hope of her winning, but at 400m left, where any sane human, myself included, would have accepted fate, she challenged it. when her competitor pulled away, she too, kicked into a gear that she simply did not have, and yet, there she was, running faster than she was designed to run, at the end of an already punishing race. and she held that position for tens of seconds. the amount of guts that must take, the faith, the strength of will, to make an effort to win against all odds, just astounds me.
i suppose if that were my job, if i held the title of fastest woman alive, then i too would have made the surge, just because that's what i do, that's what i live and breathe. i'd be programmed to win. but looking back at my running career (hobby, i should say) there have been countless times that i stopped short of giving everything i had. i gave up when i was only 99% of the way to the end of what i had left. i've chickened out. granted, i'm a back of the pack runner. so we're talking about fights for 256th versus 257th place out of 300. still, 256th would mean winning "my race" and 257th would mean losing, and occasionally I've given up. So I can't help but be inspired by even the attitudes of the elites, because they are also human. Their limits may be the limits of human ability, while mine are only mine, but the strength of character it builds and requires is identical, I think.
And paula radcliffe has more guts than any woman who ever lived. holy crap. i've been there: you're in second place, and every fiber of your being is focussed on the heels of the runner in front of you, who has a reputation for her sprint finish. you are not so talented, but you are hanging on, reaching into the depths of your spirit to find the strength to last another second, each one more agonizing than the last. and then, the heartbreak. 400 meters left, and she starts pulling away. you know you aren't slowing down, you know it's her. she's kicked it into high gear. your heart sinks, and your spirit nearly breaks.
i've been there. what i did was i hobbled along gasping and flailing to the finish line, letting the more talented one fly further and further into the distance. not so, paula radcliff. holy shit. i was watching the 1999 World Championship 10000m in which she got 2nd place. there was no hope of her winning, but at 400m left, where any sane human, myself included, would have accepted fate, she challenged it. when her competitor pulled away, she too, kicked into a gear that she simply did not have, and yet, there she was, running faster than she was designed to run, at the end of an already punishing race. and she held that position for tens of seconds. the amount of guts that must take, the faith, the strength of will, to make an effort to win against all odds, just astounds me.
i suppose if that were my job, if i held the title of fastest woman alive, then i too would have made the surge, just because that's what i do, that's what i live and breathe. i'd be programmed to win. but looking back at my running career (hobby, i should say) there have been countless times that i stopped short of giving everything i had. i gave up when i was only 99% of the way to the end of what i had left. i've chickened out. granted, i'm a back of the pack runner. so we're talking about fights for 256th versus 257th place out of 300. still, 256th would mean winning "my race" and 257th would mean losing, and occasionally I've given up. So I can't help but be inspired by even the attitudes of the elites, because they are also human. Their limits may be the limits of human ability, while mine are only mine, but the strength of character it builds and requires is identical, I think.