Why not?

Lots of people ask why I run. Many are especially puzzled about why and how I run long distances, like 26.2 mile marathons. The standard answer out of my mouth is "Why not?"

They don't usually like that response. They usually proceed to either tell me I'm nuts and leave it at that, or get all straightfaced and say "Come on, seriously, what motivates you?" as though my next words could springboard them through a portal where life changes and training begins.

So, for my benefit and theirs, I'm going to blog about it.

Here, I'll explore the thought process leading up to this run-on sentence I've handed to my body. I'll attempt to record excerpts of the stream-of-consciousness happening while waking up at 5 a.m. every Saturday to meet the team for training, while I'm out there running double digit mileage in sub-freezing temperatures, while I'm cranking up the hills (what hills?) of Little Rock proper and her sister cities.

I'm currently training for the Little Rock Marathon, to be held March 4, 2007. If all goes well this winter, this will be my third 26.2-miler. Yes, I wish I'd journaled more about the first two races, but I didn't and that can't be helped now.

Now, there is this. I don't promise routine posts but I do promise honest ones.

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Today, I did 5 miles (4 run, 1 walk) on a treadmill. It sucked. Treadmills always do.