Pain as Beauty

I was lucky enough to goto the Portland Marathon to support a friend that was running in it the other day. It had been 9 years since I last ran a marathon or been to one. It was an excellent experience this time around even though I was not a runner.

My role this time was of support. Jessica, asked me to meet her at miles 6, 12, 16, and 20 to deliver energy goo and water as well and run a bit with her. While I was waiting for her each time, I got to see many runners. Here is what I interpreted as the theire faces.

Mile 6: Great stuff, I feel great, it’s nice and cool
Mile 12: Hmmm, It’s getting warm and I am not even 1/2 way yet?
Mile 16: This is hard and that hill is looking way too big
Mile 20: Pain, Pain, Pain, Pain, Pain

Pain all over their faces. I ran with Jessica for about 2 miles and she could barely talk. I think I heard her mutter, “stabbing pain in legs the past 5 miles” at some point but I can’t be sure. It reminded me of that last 6 miles of the 3 marathons that I had run years ago. The mental part of dealing with this pain is perhaps the most difficult part of running long distances like this.

Unfortunately, if your legs ain’t pumping while running, you ain’t moving. That is what I always like about cycling….I can glide for a bit.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day, and watching all these people go through a lot of pain to reach a goal was inspiring. It fact, it was beautiful to watch and I felt honored to be around such folks. Maybe I will run in next year.