Coming Clean

It's time to come clean. A few of my Facebook friends have noticed that I recently became a "Fan" of the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon and Half-Marathon and have inquired as to how they should read that. You can read it like this: I'm going to run the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon. Not the half-marathon, the full one. On June 26th. 21 days after the Newport Marathon.

Various people have asked what races I'm training for. I don't lie to them. I tell them about Newport and Seattle. It's interesting to see their reactions. They fall into four distinct groups:

1. The "I'm worried about your health" group. This group is led by the middle-aged lady at church who is genuinely concerned about my health. After all, her middle-aged female friend tried to run two marathons within a short time frame and her doctor really feared for her health. Noted. And thank you for your concern.

2. The "You're absolutely insane for wanting to run one, much less two, marathons" group. This group is filled mostly with non-runners who I figure are trying to be witty with their responses or are looking to hold a conversation and know that I happen to like running.

3. The "Good luck Skippy, you don't have any idea what you're getting yourself into" group. Perhaps not, but your reaction is priceless. It it typically manifested by words such as "wow" or "oh" or my personal favorite to-date, "well that's a nice goal." Jenny, at Roadrunner sports falls into this category, as do certain family members.

4. The "I'm not going to say anything even though you know what I'm thinking anyway" group. This is the group most people tend to fall into. No worries, you don't need to say anything. I'm mentally placing you into one of the first three groups.

The rare 5th group is the "That's awesome" category. This is reserved for people who are truly excited for me-- for the journey I've started on, the progress I've made and what it will feel like to accomplish my goals. My wife falls into this category, thankfully, as do a few select others.

I trust my training schedule. I trust my diet. I trust my body's recovery processes. I trust my mental preparations. I'm not looking past Newport -- I'll focus on and take each race separately -- but my goal has shifted from "running a marathon" to being a "marathon runner."

So think what you want. Let me know what group you want to be in. I'll be sure to mentally note it. But I'm going to do it. Two marathons in three weeks. And when I cross the finish line in Seattle, I'll be looking for a third to run before September 5th (90 days)...if I haven't found one before that.

Happy running.