As are all The Morning Shakeout podcasts I’ve heard, this one was insightful, inspirational, and informative. I love how the conversation continued to draw new questions out of Mario, as he said something like, “one more…”
One part of the dialog reminded me of a blog post I meant to write after Boston.
I showed this photo to the clerk at the Sam Adams Brewery to get a free glass. He asked, “why are you smiling?” Because I just finished!
In the immediate aftermath of the race, whenever someone would ask, “How was Boston?” I’d immediately reply, “It was fun.” Then if we had time for conversation I’d go into a description of the horrible weather (freezing temperatures, torrential rain, grueling head winds My First Boston Marathon – The Race ).
Usually the response was, “you call that fun?” At one point I decided that maybe I need to come up with a better description of my experience. Hard? Tough? Laborious? Strenuous? Maybe these are all good descriptive words, but they don’t get to the reality of the experience.
As I think of my response to the question, “how was it?” on other races, I realize that I most often say fun.
The immediate aftermath of my first 50K! My husband didn’t want to take the photo because I looked so awful. I wanted it so I could remember. Yes, it was fun
My first 50k, The Ray Miller 50/50. This took just over 8 hours! For the last hour I suffered with the weird feeling of being simultaneously hungry and having a stomach ache. This race was exhausting in a way different than a road marathon. And as I think back, it was fun. I’m doing it again! Race Day – Ray Miller 50K Recap
Every marathon I’ve ever done has been HARD. Boston was maybe the hardest, because of the weather. But I can say doing them was fun.
The 5K. I have a love/hate relationship with the 5K. This is the hardest race distance for me. It’s the only race where consistently, I contemplate quitting. Usually just past the 2-mile mark. And yet, every summer I participate in Boogie Nights, a series of 10 Wednesday evening 5Ks. I love it! I hate it! It’s fun!
Here’s a definition of fun according to Dictionary.com:
[fuhn]
SynonymsExamplesWord OriginSee more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
- something that provides mirth or amusement: A picnic would be fun.
- enjoyment or playfulness: She’s full of fun.
I can definitely say a race is not the kind of fun you would equate with a picnic. Maybe the second line gets at it with the word “enjoyment.” Certainly not in the sense of playfulness, but rather in the sense of enjoying the accomplishment.
Mario and Dean talk about this near the end of the interview with the discussion of a phrase Dean seems to be known for, “It’s supposed to hurt like hell.” Mario asked about this and Dean told the story of his Jr. High running coach saying this to him (listen to the podcast for the story!).
My own coach transformed my running when I wondered when I’d get fit enough that my long runs would be easier. He responded with the words, “It’s supposed to be hard.” Ohhhh….once I knew this, my running improved immensely! Filling our minds… or finding a mantra
So how can “it’s supposed to hurt like hell” and “fun” go together? They just do, for runners. Struggling and making it through are fun. Maybe not in the moment but certainly after.
Outside of my Boogie Nights 5K attempts the next three Wednesdays, my next chance to “hurt like hell” while having fun will be the San Francisco Marathon, July 29th. Yeah!
