Conquering

First of all, thank God, it did not rain all day on Sunday.  It was cold, it rained at times, but it cleared up enough that the Houston Marathon could continue and people could put all their training into action.  We went out with my parents to cheer on Trent in his third successful marathon.

It’s always fun to be in the cheering section of the marathon.  It’s inspiring to watch so many people with so many body types running.  Some large percentage of the crowd is thinking or saying aloud, “I could never do that.”  But most of us could, IF we were willing to spend months getting up at 4:30 on Saturday morning to run for three or four hours at a time and to get up during the week for “short” three to six mile runs.  That, to me, is what separates a marathoner from a everyone else.  God didn’t just make some people runners and some people sleepers, we choose a lot of that on our own.  The drive to get out of bed and put on your running shoes, even as you see that your other option is staying asleep under a down comforter, is what separates out the people with medals.

Next, A Life Lesson In Pictures
or How To Rouse Yourself to Action
or What Pushing Through Looks Like
or Mental Strength Defeats Physical Pain
or Being A Badass

Me:  It’s just another long run!  Only five miles to go!  (I knew it was less than that, but I wasn’t going to say only 3 miles to go when it was really 3.2.  Someone standing around in a warm pea coat with a cup of coffee, underestimating mileage will really piss off someone who has been running in the cold and rain for the past 4 hours.)

Trent:  Less than that…

And

here

he

goes.

A few miles later, here he is, almost to the finish line.

Then it’s over.   You finish your 3rd marathon, and get a sweet medal and the lifelong bragging rights that mean even if you aren’t still running when you are 90, you were a marathoner in your youth.  You get the stiffness and soreness that reminds you that you didn’t waste having a body, you did something awesome with it.

I was so proud of Trent after this marathon.  I’ve been proud of him after every marathon, but especially after this one.  A marathoner’s spouse enjoys a unique perspective, because you don’t just see marathon day with its sufferings and glory, you see how someone you love sacrifices and pushes themselves to get here.  You are the one who stays in bed under the down comforter when they’re getting up to run, waking up just enough to say, “Be careful,” before closing your eyes again.

A marathon showcases some of Trent’s best qualities:  action, ability to wake up early to do miserable things, ability to wake up early to do amazing things, mental determination (we need to remember that this quality is a positive when our kids are showcasing it in battle form), physical strength, and stick-to-it-ness.  If only a marathon also required being good at math, it would be his perfect showcase.