Off to the Races
Beginning
One evening in October, Heather called me over to joke about a run going on in Indianapolis, a half-marathon, in January, in the dark, through the woods. For a couple of people who do not run recreationally, that is a silly thing to go off and do on a whim. I found it funny, we made witty comments about people who would do such things, we laughed about it, and went off again to our own amusements.
Of course I signed us up immediately.
There was less laughter in the aftermath, but the registration was non refundable, so what do you do? Prepare for a half-marathon, that’s what you do. If the time between October and January were to be described in Biblical terms, there would have been much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I should point out that the farthest either of us had ever run at one time was 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles if you’re counting as the bald eagle flies. It’s been over 10 years though, so it really had no bearing on the matter whatsoever.
Neither of us are couch potatoes but that doesn’t mean we enjoy a brisk 5 mile jog every other day. I personally do not find much joy in running. Sports like soccer or basketball were always much more enjoyable for me, and I never much noticed the exertion because of all the other things to focus on and enjoy. Heather takes to running much better than I do. Due to her more engaged inclination, she put in far more miles in preparation, and that preparation helped immensely.
On January 6th, we were as ready as we were going to be and we drove to Indy, layer upon layer of clothing at the ready. What we lacked in long distance running experience (at least, long distance for us), we made up for in hoodies. We had even purchased headlamps, which turned out to be a wise decision. Neither of us had ever been on a trail run at night before, let alone in winter, and a light was a good and popular choice. There were those without them, and I think we would have been ok without them, but it would have taken quite a bit longer.
End
That bit is important because the course was 2 laps of the same circuit, through Eagle Creek Park. There was a deadline to finish the first lap, after which it was assured one could not finish the rest of the race before the crew packed up and left for home; if you missed the first lap deadline, you were running a quarter-marathon, not a half-marathon that night. It is a nice park, Eagle Creek, and beautiful at night. The experience was a lovely one, and started auspiciously, with the most portentous of signs, if you are into that sort of thing. As we pulled into the entrance, a single bald eagle flew overhead, and soared away above the trees. The park is well named, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that we saw one, but it was lucky and a delight to us both.
We ran our “race” together and finished with a not competitive but respectable time, under the conditions. This was the furthest we’d run in our lives at one go, even after our admittedly recent and limited training. It rained or snowed nearly the entire time, which added to the fun, and at times the misery. It is hard to stop or slow down when you’ve been perspiring and the temperature is sometimes above 32, and sometimes below it. At times like that, it’s always cold. We contemplated the word bipolar a couple of times that night, but nothing came of it.
It also meant that there was a lot of ice, as well as a lot of mud. Ankle deep at times, we sloshed and slid our way through the course. We saw a couple of other people go down, and heard of some stitches being administered, but all in all, we thought it was good fun.
That adventure has been the extent of our traveling in the last few weeks, but it highlights two points we want to make now.
You don’t need to go very far to travel, to try something new. Old places can take on new meaning if you keep trying new things, with new people, in different seasons. We didn’t even talk to anyone, but it was a heck of a time.
The second point is that fitness can determine what kinds of experiences you have when traveling, and in life. We don’t all need to be a certain type of fit, or at the same level of fitness, but we have found that the better prepared we are, the more adventures are open to us, and we enjoy those adventures all the more.
To that point, we looked forward to our one day in Bruges last year so much that we woke at 3 am and weren’t back in bed until 2 am the next day. My Fitbit tells me that day still holds the record for my most steps in 24 hours, and yes, that beats even our half-marathon.
In a week we’ll be starting a busy season, starting with Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula. That’s what’s next for us. What’s next for you? If it’s nothing, make it something. Even if it’s just a short, slow run. Start preparing for adventure. Get out there, get moving, take a gander at what’s out there. Travel More. Travel Better.
