Marathons Part II
Continuing to think more about the marathon, namely how long I've been at attempting the distance, and also why this is important to me
At first I'm sure it was just the distance, being able to be fit enough to finish 26-miles. Then the 100th Boston was happening, and I was one of the many who got caught up in the excitement, lore, and challenge of qualifying for that race in 1996.
Qualifying for Boston was an interesting lesson for me; the year of making every run important with an end goal in mind (being able to qualify with a sub 3:10 marathon somewhere else) started out exciting enough. But, as the year went on, and time was constantly spent figuring out my fitness level versus time left to qualify, the entire process became a bit stressful. Especially when I would skip "fun" runs because they didn't support my end goal, and might be counter-productive to my overall training. Luckily, I was far enough into my program to push through once the building negativity started. I realized at some point that Boston wasn't that important, evidently.
I was fortunate, blessed, and trained enough to run the qualifying standard of sub 3:10 with a 3:08 at Vermont City. That qualifying run was stressful, difficult, and exhausting. Everything a marathon should be, according to most, I guess. It was also something I felt very satisfied, or rewarded, by. I realized that I put in the work and achieved the desired results due to the year-long effort and planning. This became an important lesson I carry with me to this day regarding any type of "project"... do your "homework", make that "homework" harder than the "test", and things often go well.
The Boston Marathon itself, for me, was a mixed bag. The course was historic, and the people lining the streets were simply awesome. It was memorable to be part of the 100th running, and realizing that it took a great effort to even get to the starting line was encouraging. I didn't like the travel logistics or the crowd. I also, at some point, realized I didn't really like running 26-miles on a paved road. Or running on paved road at all.
That became it; I have never attempted another marathon on the road. Since 1996 I believe I've not even run "on the road" more than 100 times, with this past year being a high count. My feet have been on the trail for the past 20+ years.
To look at my marathon history, I can't deny that it started with the roads. It moved to the trail, with organized events, and then moved once again to "do-it-yourself" events done by myself or with a small group.
Pointing toward the future, I've learned never to say never, so a road marathon may enter my life at some point. I am just not ready to embrace it just yet.