December 12 – Body IntegrationOctober 31, 2010. Marine Corps Marathon. Washington, DC
This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?
I'm not as prepared as I want to be - as I was last time - but I am here and am committed to finishing. The energy surrounding me is excited, intense.
Mile 0-12: I'm excited, my muscles aren't too tired, I'm able to run without thinking about the physical part. It feels easy. I'm probably going too fast. I'm not pacing myself like I should be. I am happy. People are cheering, the world feels alive, I fly down the streets of DC.
Mile 12-20: This hurts. I don't remember it being this difficult this soon in the race. I'm questioning my decision to run. I'm not happy about the lack of cheering crowds on Hains Point. Was it this hard two years ago? I don't think so.... My feet pound on the pavement, and my steps don't seem to be in rhythm with my breathing. My body and my mind are fighting.
Mile 20-26.2: Running doesn't become less painful at this point. The very act of running and breathing and hurting and continuing on enters both my body and my mind in just the same frequencies, and I pound the pavement and breathe in and think out all with the same inhale and the same exhale. Breathing in and out, in and out, my mind also breathes in and out, in and out. At this moment, we are one. Body and mind, acting together with one common goal. Finish.... finish..... finish.
Look at you! Congratulations! Just reading that exhausted me. Well, it's also the middle of the night, but still.
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