Marathon Monday

Marathon Monday, or as it's known in Boston, Patriot Day, is a unique in-person experience. Yesterday was the second year in a row I was able to witness the Boston Marathon. Last year I attended a Marathon Monday party on Beacon St. in Brookline, where we watched the race on television and went outside when the elite runners were passing by our location. This year, I spent about 4 hours standing along Beacon St. in Brookline, watching the elite runners, then the great runners and then the very good runners - if you're running the Boston Marathon, then, in my opinion, you're at the very least a very good runner - pass through Coolidge Corner.

Seeing tens of thousands of runners experiencing the same 26.2 miles in so many different ways is rather incredible. Coolidge Corner is about 23 miles or so (I think) into the race, and at that point the pain is visible on the faces of numerous competitors, even the elite. At the same time, it's amazing how many runners look like they're out for a casual midday jog, like it's no big deal. And yes, I consider all runners yesterday competitors. Even if not in it to win it, so to speak, runners are competing against themselves, trying to beat their previous best times or competing against their own physical limits to make it to the finish line.

Overall, it's an inspiring experience. It makes you want to go out that very afternoon and start training for 2011. I would like to run a marathon one day - just one. Due to my heart condition I've had to give up most of the forms of exercise that I loved, but thankfully I've been able to replace the passion with a love of running. Now I probably max out at about 7 miles right now, so I'm nowhere near running a marathon anytime soon, but it's a distant goal that, if able, I'd like to achieve. Running a marathon would be a tremendous personal victory for me over my heart condition. It would be a means of asserting control back over my health and showing my defiance to what can be and at times has been a limited force in my life.

Unfortunately, I do have many questions concerning whether or not I actually can run a marathon. Is it too strenuous of an activity for my heart? Will my body hold up during training? How do I intake sufficient levels of electrolytes in advance and during a run while adhering to my "salt is the devil" diet? It's a lot to figure out before I can seriously approach the goal, and days like yesterday and today sadly offer me more doubt than confidence.

My back and legs were really sore yesterday, which could be the result of running a few games of basketball at the gym on Saturday, or from doing numerous sets of pull-ups on Friday and Saturday. But last night the pain changed from typical muscle soreness, which was somewhat puzzling, to a prickly, tension-filled discomfort in my back, shoulders and legs. I hadn't experienced such pain in two years, when my life was in the middle of a downward spiral towards an almost complete loss of control. Thankfully, my life is trending in a positive direction this time around. Grad school is almost over and concluding nicely, I actually have a few job prospects and my personal life is full and going really well.

Still, the pain is present, and it's accompanied by questions and doubt. What's causing it? Is it somehow related to my heart condition? Should I be calling my doctor, and if so, which one? Will occurrences of pain such as this impede or prevent me from achieving goals, both the stated goals in this post and more personal goals? While I continue to ponder such questions, I'll keep my memories of yesterday fresh in my mind. While I'd rather be out running on what is again a great spring day in Boston, I'll be smart and take it easy today in hopes that I'll be out there again soon, working towards a greater goal. Cause whether I get there or not, the journey matters to me a great deal.