Surreal

I know I ran a marathon (my first) about two months ago but it still feels surreal. A few days ago I went out to happy hour after work and was speaking to my colleague who also happened to be my marathon training partner. I told him about how I still could not believe that I had actually run all 26.2 miles of MCM '09. We reminisced about some of our training runs, like the first time I ran 10 miles (or double digit miles) or the time I ran the actual 13.1 miles just to make sure I would be able to do it for my first half back in March. I said to him "Remember when I could barely run three miles???". He said "I know. You were such a pathetic runner". We both laughed hysterically. I talked about MCM and how amazed I was at how the miles just flew by. I mentioned how I couldn't remember all of the miles but I remember miles 1-2, 6, 8, 11-13.1, 18, 20, and 23-26.2. He ran MCM '09 too so when discussing the miles, he could relate. I talked about all of this with a huge smile on my face.

My running buddy said something very important to me that night. He said that back in March when I told him that I had signed up for MCM, I impressed him. He couldn't believe that I had actually taken that first step on my own. He told me that I should be very proud of my marathon accomplishment. I followed through and reached my goal. He said that running a marathon is something no one could ever take away from me. He's right.

Running a marathon was a dream that I never thought possible for myself. I just couldn't imagine myself being able to do it. It did not seem like it was something in the cards for me. I'm so glad it was. It was a dream that I made my reality. I realized that if you put your mind to something, dreams really do come true. I rode the train home that night thinking of my father's favorite song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole. Watch and listen to it here.

My yoga instructor always says "The future is not a promise. Live for today. Be in this moment". I love these words. I'm going to try to live in all of my running moments in the new year. I hope there are lots of them.

PS: I ran for 20 minutes pain free this past Saturday :-)