What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

The L.A. Marathon is next Sunday. That means that it’s been about a year that something broke. For two years running had become a bit of a religion. 30, 40 sometimes 50 miles a week. I was at a point where I felt that I was wasting my time if I wasn’t going to run 6 miles. Then came March 21, 2010. Sitting on a curb in Brentwood hoping a golf cart would come along and whisk me in anonymity to the finish line. The 5:30 pace group happening by. Latching on and finishing under my own power with my tail between my legs. Humbled.

My plan was to return to the scene of the crime and get the monkey off my back. But, by the time I was able to get back to training, the window to be ready for L.A. 2011 had long come and gone. I was relegated to waiting another year. And we all know what happens with wounds and the passing of time…..

Fast forward. March 3, 2010. The talk on Twitter was tapering for L.A. I was sitting at my computer feeling sorry for myself in general. Then, a familiar name popped up in my gchat window:

“Linda: ...how about running me through Century City? Maybe mile 17-20?”

Linda is “Ms. V” in the blogosphere and @MsV1959 on Twitter. I’ve been following her blog and tweets almost since the inception of my blogging and tweeting days. It’s been so long, I don’t even remember how I happened on her blog – Gymnotes. And even though she lives 400 miles away, whenever she’s in town she always makes an effort to include me in races or tweetups. How could I turn her down?*

So let the therapy begin. I’ll be on the course. Rodeo Drive. Century City. West Los Angeles. The Veteran’s Administration. At that point I’ll hand her off to Shiloh, who will be running her into the finish.**

Maybe it’s not the return that I had envisioned eight months ago. I won’t be able to stop and spit on the ground at mile 22 in Brentwood. But I’ll be out there rain or shine. In my running shoes. Linda – THANK YOU for asking!!!!

* Now that that is public knowledge, I’m also planning on meeting a ton of other blog/twitter friends out on the course. The list right now includes @ridgeley, @nobel4lit, @borntorun77, and @tri2thrive. There’s even a rumor that @b2squared may make an appearance.

** The only thing I can’t figure out is how a die hard Dodger’s fan could let a Giant’s fan pace her into the finish. Linda? Are you losing your mind? You should have made her pace you the first few miles. That way she would have had to set foot in Blue Heaven!