50 / 50 - Insights from the Book

Around the Labor Day weekend, I mentioned that I had won the book 50/50 from Shéamus off his running website. I was able to read about 100 pages the first weekend I got the book, but since then had not been able to pick it up until last night. It really is a good read, well paced and full of information. There were quite a few parts where I really felt connected to the book and I wanted to write about one of the sections that struck a cord in me.

Dean Karnazes writes about completing one’s first marathon and mentions how a marathon “…will leave you demoralized and defeated…”

Continuing on page 140, he writes:
“So you train hard. You dedicate yourself wholeheartedly, you sacrifice, and you overcome countless smaller challenges along the way. You pour everything you’ve got into it. But you know the marathon will ask for more. In the dark recess of your mind, a gloomy voice is saying, You can’t. You do your best to ignore this self-doubt, but the voice doesn’t go away.”

He then goes on to talk about Day 24 of the 50/50 Challenge that took place on October 10th, 2006 in Texas. It seems that he is addressing me in a direct tone as he talks about first time marathons and fighting the adversity to cross the finish line and the pride that comes with having the courage to do such a task. It comes at the perfect time in the book, as October 10th is a shared birthday between Brett Favre, who is another man who won’t quit, and myself.

As I prepare for my first marathon, I think about other events in life that evoke similar feelings. The EIB road marches come to mind, as back in the day when I earned mine, the foot march was the last event, with a finish line and music playing and a crowd at the end. Then I thought about HouseHold6 and her battles bringing our wonderful daughters into this world. It was a battle to get me home in time to see my second daughter born as I was deployed to Kosovo at the time, and had to play my own version of planes, trains and automobiles to get there in time. Lastly, I thought about the war and how it has changed; and changed me in the process.

Moreover, I think more about the journey to get there, wherever there may be, then the actual completion of the mission. The finish line of the marathon will not be as important then the over 600 more miles that I will have to run in training before I get there. It will not be as important to me as the 26.2 mile battle that I face. I plan on actually training that distance before I set foot to race that distance. The mission will be accomplished, but it is the journey to get to the finish and the journey after the finish will be what I remember most.