We Create Our Own Victories

Remember when I was training for a marathon and I told you every week about what I ran and what Hal told me to run? I know you do. Well, Hal was in Kansas City tonight!!! OMG. I totally geeked out over going to see him! I mean, come on. This guy has gotten me through ever single race I've ever run. Ever.

I knew that Hal was promoting a book, but for some reason I didn't realize what it was. So I showed up to the event and bought the book right away. Then I realized that it isn't a book about how to run marathons and improve your running. It is a novel about "Celebrity X" who is "more famous that Oprah" who is running the Lake City Marathon. It takes place during the 72 hours prior to the marathon, and is all about love, drama, and crazy things that can happen while running a marathon. Besides the marathon part it sounds pretty... lame. Blasphemy! Whatev, I will definitely still read it but I'd rather have a book that tells me how to be a better runner.

Here's Hal talking to us:

Hal is super old. He had the best stories. He was talking about running the Boston Marathon when they only allowed 1,000 people to enter. He told stories about winning marathons and running against all these famous runners back in the day. I could have listened to him talk all day.

He talked about so many different things, and people asked tons of random questions, but here are a few points he made that I found really interesting:

• "We create our own victories." Hal talked about how he meets so many people at these things and he is always amazed at people's stories. He met a lady last week who he said was tiny, looked like a natural born runner. You know the type! She told him that she'd lost 170 pounds by training for marathons. He met another girl who was in her late 20's who had been hit by a car when she was 18 and the doctor's told her she'd never walk again. She was prepping for her 5th marathon. He talked about how everyone has their own story and creates their own victory. You don't go out to win a marathon, but you always triumph in some way. I really think that part of the appeal of the marathon is that it seems so huge, but it is attainable. And everyone does have their story. It may not be as big as 170 pounds or regaining the ability to walk, but it's still your story. And it's awesome to feel like you're a part of that.
• The last 6 miles. Hal talked about how during the last 6 miles of the marathon you have to look deep inside of you and really use all the guts you have to finish. I could totally relate to this after last weekend! He was saying how all these marathons tout the beauty of their course, but really in those last 6 miles you totally get tunnel vision. He shared a story about how he ran Boston 10 times, then Runner's World asked him to do a review of the course, so he walked it. He was shocked to see that the course ran by Fenway Stadium at the end. He'd never noticed the huge building before. I had to laugh b/c during KC I had to remind myself to look up several times throughout the race to enjoy the beautiful fall scenery, but during those last 6 I didn't see anything but the 5 feet in front of me.
• Weight Matters. Someone asked about ideal weight for optimum performance and Hal made a good point that women often obsess over losing the last couple of pounds, thinking that if they did they would race so much faster. He said often that's not the case. He recommended recording your weight along with your race times to see at what weight you race the fastest. He guessed it would be somewhere in the middle; between your lower and upper normal range.
  
• Staying Motivated. When asked how he stayed motivated to run all these years, he quoted someone who said that, "Runners just die healthy." And Hal agreed. He said that he'd rather die healthy than sick and that the promise of a longer, healthier life is what motivates him to keep running. He also said to keep racing. :)
• Bermuda. He said this was his favorite marathon. Brooke, add it to the list!

Me + Hal = BFF:
This was totally the motivation I needed after what was kind of a crappy race. Being in a room with tons of runners and one of the greatest runners ever (my opinion) was seriously inspiring. I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and run my first run since the marathon, and then keep running after that. I can't wait to pick a new race and let Hal lead me there.