Determination and Desire

Well everyone (all TWO of you :),
Tomorrow is the last run of my 3rd week of training - it will be my longest run so far - the big 6 daddy miles. After tomorrow morning (God willing) I will have covered 37 miles. But let's get back to that 6 miles...S I X miles...hmmm. I knew going into this that the key was a slow and gradual conditioning of the body. Much like climbers of Mt. Everest have to spend considerable amounts of time at higher and higher altitude levels so their bodies can acclimate, I knew that I too would have to gradually push myself then push myself and then push myself until 26.3 miles wouldn't be as impossible (and suicidal) as I once thought. Notice that up until this point its been all mental! Then came the 5 mile run. I was going to double a route that I usually only run once (wasn't sure of the exact distance, but figured it to be about 2.5 miles around). During that whole first lap my mind was pointing out what was about to come, telling my body that we were about to go to the next level! The moment that first lap ended - my mind abdicated and suddenly joined my body in one screaming chorus, "STOP. OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH. OUCH (my feet joined in too)! LET'S GO HOME NOW!" Their objections to what we were doing grew so annoying that I actually cut the second lap shorter and headed for home...all the while my mind assuring me that we were still going to be right at 5 miles!!!

The experience reminded me of an interview I listened to a few days earlier on NPR...the host was talking with different athletes (runners specifically) about the domination of people of color in track and field (I'm not sure if that was the overall angle of the show, but that was the topic during the moment when I tuned in). A former Canadian child running star was on the show debating this question. This former Canadian Youth Champion had at the age of 14 been the fastest youth runner in Canada and had beaten other athletes who would later go on to win Olympic medals and fame. He said that in his opinion it wasn't race - or genetics - so much as it was determination and desire. He said that at the level they were all running at there wasn't much difference in physique or skill, but the difference lay in the attitude and commitment to training. He described how his father had raised him to pursue the enjoyment of many activities in life and so as he began to be interested in other things like girls, social events, reading, board games, music etc. - these began to pull him away and distract him from running. He talked about one specific moment in training where the thought suddenly popped into his head...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? So I can be the fastest. WHY? So I can win. WHY? Ummm. And that's when he decided HE DIDN'T CARE enough about running anymore to keep pushing himself. SO HE QUIT. Those others who went on to win Olympic Gold did not. He said the difference was that simple. Then he added that the reason Tiger Woods is so dominating in golf is due in part to natural talent and ability, but much more to the fact that he gets up at 5AM every morning and hits 1000 balls before most people have had their breakfast. That's the real difference.

I began to hear this same question during my 5 mile run...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? And at the same time I began to think of all the other things I would rather be doing (mainly still sleeping). I know I will face this question many more times during my months of training and probably even during the marathon itself.

This is why every morning before I run I look at the small poster I printed out with all the Casa Hogar Canaan orphan's faces and I tell myself THIS IS WHY...BECAUSE I CARE.

May God give my mind AND body the fortitude and strength to CARE ENOUGH to make it to the finish line.