I have to admit, I am a little intimidated and overwhelmed at the possibility that I will be doing the 40th running of the Houston Marathon in a little over a week. I mean, I have been running for nearly two years now, and I have been passed or passed by so many people at Memorial who proudly sport their 13.1 and 26.2 Houston Marathon Finisher shirts. You can tell that they are proud of their accomplishment, and they should be. Thinking about the possibility that I may wear that shirt excites me, but knowing what I will have to do to get it, scares me a lot considering what has happened in recent weeks.It really seems redundant to even explain what a marathon is, but I know some of you may not know what the fuss is all about, so I decided to do a little research:
The name "Marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states that he was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the Battle of Marathon (in which he had just fought),which took place in August or September, 490 BC. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming "Νενικήκαμεν" (Nenikékamen, 'We have won.') before collapsing and dying.
When the idea of a modern Olympics became a reality at the end of the 19th century, the initiators and organizers were looking for a great popularizing event, recalling the ancient glory of Greece. Since that day Marathon distances races has become increasingly popular.
If you ever ask a person that has completed a marathon what is feels like to know that you have finished, you may get a lot of different answers, but the thing that you will always see is how their face lights up as they begin to answer. It transforms a person into being someone they never imagined they could be. It shows that they can overcome things that they have considered impossible, or they won a personal battle they can proudly announce.Although I hope and pray that I don't collapse and die after completing this years 40th running of the Houston Marathon, I hope that I can announce victory in my own personal battles:
For the past 3 weeks I have suffered from foot pain that I really thought was just cramping at first, but realized that it was much more after the cramps became more like pins in the bottom of my foot. I went to the doctor and found out that I had an Inflamed Lateral Plantar Fascia, which is just big words for slightly torn tendon in the bottom of my foot. It mostly happens to runners that over-pronate or you overstride because of fatigue or improper technique. I am pretty sure mine happened because of my stride. Coach Dana Lyons really helped me understand the reasons of shortening up my stride and speeding up my cadence to prevent injury, but I have to admit that I may have gotten lazy in the past few months regarding my form. My laziness has now caused me to stop training, so I can't do a proper recovery, and I am not allowed to run the two weeks prior the race. I hope I can do the distance, and I know that I will have to depend on my old buddy "Will Power" to get me through this challenge. Fortunately, I will have a lot of support on my side from several places. I am happy to announce that Ray Walker will be hosting a Shawn's Anomaly Marathon Watching Party at his amazing home for the first 75 people that RSVP on the evite (FYI, RSVP means "Please Respond" and not ignore invitation if you can't come. I think society has forgotten that.) So I, along with several other members of Team Shawn's Anomaly, will have a lot cheerleaders on the course for sure. That excites me and freaks me out all at the same time.
Finally, I will be sporting my newest kicks provided by Newton Running. This excites me in several ways. First, I am happy to say that they have partnered with me to finish this journey, and their shoes promote and support the natural running style that prevents injuries like I received. On top of all that, they are pretty sexy looking! ;) Check them out at www.newtonrunning.com. I totally recommend you try out their product considering they garantee that you will like them or you can return them. Here is a video about their technology:
I temporary mute my inner Pheidippides and save my last battle announcement for the next blog, but know this... This battle has been going on for most of my adult life, so declaring victory will be a huge step for me. I can't wait to tell you more, and I hope you can't wait to find out.
