Going the Distance

I've run them all - distances that range from 100 meters to 50 miles.  I was a high school champion in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.  Ahh, that was so long ago and so many miles ago.  There is not much calling for 100 meter, 55 year old sprinters any more. Over the last 15 years, I have been focused on marathons with a few half-marathons and ultras thrown in for good measure.  I have averaged 6 marathons a year over 15 years.  After 8 years, I reached my peak and PR and then a steady decline set in. And now, it is a struggle to get through any distance. But I am still out there trying, figuring out how to get through training runs and race day distances.  I am no longer racing (maybe I never was) but now just running.  I best describe myself as a marathoner because it has been my focus for so long, completing the 50 states and at a peak running 14 marathons in one year. I still have a goal to reach 101 marathons. As I try to go the distance at least 12 more times, I know that my days are numbered to where all enjoyment of running 26.2 miles diminishes to dread.  What I must not let this do is diminish my joy of running and how it has helped my life.  I have written this before, "running is a friend that has always been there, good times and bad, sad times and happy, without persecution and judgment, with a well-defined path of moving forward one step at a time."  If my days are numbered for going the distance that I love, what shall I do?  I shall go the distance that I can and not be embarrassed by it or for my times that have suffered so greatly over the last few years and particularly over the last 6 months. I cannot let it be about time now, although I strive to continue to do my best. I know that I will never qualify for Boston in the marathon, run a sub-20 5K or a sub-1:30 half.  With my sprinter body-type and fast twitch muscles I was never able to accomplish those goals anyway. I don't mean to make this a boo-hoo post.  My intent is to say that there are other distances to enjoy, it doesn't always have to be a marathon which has become more laborious these days.  I still love going the distance and my mind says I can and will but my body has been rebelling.  I would not trade my 89 marathon experiences in for a Boston BQ.  I have seen this country by running. I don't need fast times to justify my running existence. I'm a runner. I'm going the distance - whatever that distance may be.