Catt Scratches

Today I trained. Training means making sure the mechanical parts of my body can carry me through a 26.2 mile run. My trainer is relentless in making every body part accountable to me for its duty during the race. She’s also really creative and makes me do exercises that are not in any book. Today I bounced across the room and back jumping on and off bosus and on to different size boxes. I did pull-ups on a universal. I got down on all fours, had weights strapped to my ankles while I kicked backwards and in semicircles. I did jumping squats with a fifteen pound dumbbell in each hand. Oh yeah, the final trick was rolling with my feet on a grape (a soft ball) and with my butt in the air, thirty times. We play like this for an hour twice a week and I would do it three times a week if I could. Work like this keeps my knees strong. The result is that on a day like today, after running 16 miles yesterday, I can walk up and down a flight of stairs without twinge of knee pain.

My daughter is a constant source of support. I text her before a run and let her know, that I’m “going dark,” and can’t be texted for a while. She replies, “copy that.” When I finish, she says, “Damn, you’re a beast,” or something. She lets me know she’s proud of me. She’s going to follow me to Maine so there’s someone there at the finish line, shouting my name and bringing me home. What she may not know is that I find her greatest support in the healthy life style choices she’s been making since she’s been watching me get healthy.

My friend OJ read yesterday’s post. He must have spotted my anxiety between the lines. Okay, maybe the anxiety was in fact blatantly noticeable in the lines. His comment brought me back to earth and reminded me of why I do this. I do it because I love it and it makes me strong. And it gives me something to give to the world.

Whenever I tell friends about a run or about a race or particularly challenging workout session, without fail, they express admiration and pride and a wish that they could do something similar. Sometimes, a friend will take something from the fact that I run and work out and train like a madwoman. Friends have told me they have started walking or taking the stairs or they join a gym or they pick up an exercise tape or quit smoking or drinking beer. It’s my gift to them and that’s their gift to me. I don’t just run for me; I run for them. Every human being is capable of complete regeneration, and I want to keep pointing that out to them by example.

It’s as simple as this. I run because I can. I run this marathon because it’s like running through a nature museum. It’s hard too. I run it because it’s hard and because people look at me and say they couldn’t do it for one reason or another: knees, back, time, weight, heart.

All my friends know my theory that all knowledge worth knowing has been written in a rock and roll song. Springsteen wrote, “It’s not your lungs this time, it’s your heart that holds your fate. ” If you put your heart into something, you can do it. It’s that uncomplicated. Because if you put your heart into it, your friends and family will be there for you, and trust me. You can get by with a little help from your friends.