Long time readers of this blog may recall Operation: F U Matt and Jake, my quest to win a bet and prove my awesomeness by beating the odds and running a marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes by the end of the year. Well apparently I’m not at all awesome. Strike that, I’m very awesome, I’m just lacking a little bit of awesomeness in this case. As if I needed any salt in the wounds of my failure I read this today. Katie Holmes ran a marathon I didn’t. Now that’s a kick in the junk. Although I guess a celebrity has a little more free time and resources to train but still, it’s Katie Holmes. Maybe athletic prowess is some Scientological virtue so Tom made her do it; I’m probably being too hard on myself.
It got me thinking though. I was a runner in high school, not a bad one at that. I’ve run long distances before, I’ve trained hard, and I’m used to the pain. So why is it that other seemingly nonathletic people can manage this feat of athleticism and I can’t? Clearly it’s a problem of motivation, which Matt correctly assumed in making the bet. It’s not that I can’t do it; it’s that I really can’t find a good enough reason to motivate myself to do it. People have all sorts of reasons to try and run a marathon. Some people use it as a way to get themselves in shape or lose weight. That one doesn’t work for me. I actually lose weight when I don’t work out. If I don’t work out regularly I look like the Olsen twins long lost brother. It’s not cool. So I gain weight from running. Others run just to prove something to themselves. Also not appealing to me. I’m pretty confident in my ability to jog 26 miles, not to cheapen the feat, it’s very difficult and something everyone should be proud of. I just think I can do it. What it comes down to is I’m highly competitive, and some sort of challenge is probably the only thing that would provide proper motivation. I thought a bet would work. I guess not. I think what it’s going to take is to actually have a person to race. Who wants in? Anyone? Crap, I’m never doing this.
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13 comments:
Ooo, I totally would but I just ate a bag of "fun" sized snickers.
I can't even get myself to run a 5K. I ran one while I was living in Lynchburg. I trained for two weeks. I think it took me 27 minutes. I didn't run again for a year, and then I trained for 3 weeks before running a 2-mile race. I finished that in 15:15. I suck.
Never dude. When my doctor told me 20 years ago that I'd never run again, my response was "ok, fine". I have never missed it and I never will.
E Mack-
I will lay down the gauntlet since a marathon is something I want to do anyway. I still don't think you have the junk to run one no matter how easy you say it is. Spoken like a true slacker.
Name the marathon, and I'll go head to head with you. Does Baltimore have one? We could run Philly, or Richmond, or Chicago? I actually want to run the one out in Maui next year. You in?
Come on, I'm providing you with a challenge you said you will need. Even if you do run it, there is no way in hell you will finish at or before 3 hr 30 mins.
And there it is, BD called your bluff, now you have to do it. I, however, think a snickers bar sounds like a great idea, time for a trip to the vending machine.
Geez Brian, you weren't kidding about throwing down the gauntlet. That sounds like a challenge if I've ever heard one. I'm in. There is one in Baltimore but from everything I've read and heard from people it's one of the most difficult in the country. I don't think I can make it to Maui though. Are you running in the Ironman Triathalon?
Eric:
Let's be serious here. Marathon training gets in the way of drinking. Drinking = fun. And you don't hate fun, so drinking it is!
Baltimore's hard, parts of it have been compared to Boston. I was going to challenge you, luckily Brian D did it first (more lucky for me than you, because if you can't beat me, you should definately reconsider calling yourself awesome).
**I'd also like to add, I totally killed Katie's marathon time.
you know, i think this whole blog spawned from the fact that I reminded you about the bet in my comment from the other day! and i didnt get any credit. sheesh. i'm so glad we aren't friends anymore.
Actually that is true Jessy. You were the direct inspiration for this post. I apologize for not giving you credit for the idea. But if you read the title of the post again you'll understand why I tend to forget these details.
Anthony - You definitely correctly characterized my feelings on fun, but can I really let Beef call me out like that?
I like that you call me Anthony. Also, I would just concede to Beef already....you know those Italians are known for their speed.
There's plenty of time for drinking after the race. Plus we need to rehydrate anyway and put back in those nutrients that beer supplies.
Val-I must have missed the day they were giving out speed to Italians. Nevertheless, we do have endurance!
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