Twenty Six Point Two

This past Monday I got to witness one of the more special events I've been able to see. I got to see my girlfriend Kelsi run the 118th Boston Marathon.

This was special for a few reasons; the most unfortunate of which is what happened last year when a couple of assholes turned the city of Boston into an episode of CSI for a week. We all know what happened, so I won't delve into that anymore than I needed to.

The coolest reason that this was a special event was because of how fucking hard Kelsi worked for this. I always knew that she was a hard worker, but that took on a whole new meaning when she started her marathon training about 4 months ago. She was running a ton of miles in the middle of winter in a place that isn't exactly friendly to running 20 miles outside (it snowed on Sunday during her long run for like 6 weeks straight). She will be modest and tell you that her training isn't anything different than that of all distance runners, but I'm not there to watch all the other distance runners bust their ass for a race.

Training for all sports is tough; I've considered training for weightlifting to be some of the most arduous training that I've ever done. It's repetitive and painful and frustrating and just brutal at some points; but it doesn't hold a candle to what I saw Kels go through. Aches and pains and zero programmed days off while running 70-75 miles a week. I used to think that doing 6 or 7 sets of 3 clean and jerk was brutal; it's nothing compared to having to run 13 miles between classes and then find some time to study.

All of her hard work paid off, though. She ran a 16 minute PR and broke the 3-hour mark which was her ultimate goal. She ran 2:59.06 and said it was the hardest race she's ever run. The hills in Newton were worse than she'd thought and she wasn't sure if she'd make it at some points. But she loved it and was thrilled with how she did. The whole event was amazing for her, and she had a great time doing it. The signs, the crowds, the whole spectacle of the event was worth it.

I know that she now feels a little bit weird; she'd trained so hard for this race that she's got that "lost" sense that athletes tend to feel when their event/season is over. I know that once her training starts up again in a week that she'll fall right back into stride (pun not intended, but totally intended) and get ready to smoke her next race. To her coach and teammates, I personally want to thank you for helping her so much during this race prep; I know she couldn't have done it without you all.

Kels, I'm proud of you babe. You did an amazing job.

While running a marathon is pretty much the last thing I personally ever want to do, we can all certainly learn a lesson (or 8) about how to work hard to achieve a goal. Anything that you're doing that is "so hard" could always be worse. Work as hard as you can, and the results will be worth it.

Damn, I look Swole.

Have a great day, and go lift some heavy shit!