I started reading " Born To Run", thus far about the Tarahumara people and their amazing running abilities. I read a part about a super human 100 mile run, where the aid stations/bathrooms were about every 15 miles.
Wait. About ever 15 MILES? omigod.
I had to read that over about four times for it to really sink in. That would be the same as my upcoming half marathon having no aid stations at all. The thought absolutely horrified me. Then it occurred to me that on this upcoming 9 mile training run, I understood there to be only one bathroom at the 1/2 mile mark. When I heard this, I specifically told Koach Kutie 'that's insane. Seriously?'
I silently objected like there was no tomorrow. Had I thought there was any point in doing so, I would have bitched and moaned about it from here until Saturday.
No, rather I'm just looking at it as one more thing to challenge myself, to see how well I can pull this off. It might be a horrendous experience, I might learn how others do it, I might learn that I should carry kleenex with me on all runs. Who knows? While I'm deathly afraid of repeating last weeks gastro-intestinal horror, I'll still forge on. Somehow. Imodium anyone? Yeah, I'm only part kidding.
Reading about the every-15-mile-aid race got me to thinking. People actually do that. Okay, well not this people, but other people do it. The thought of doing anything more than 13.1 miles is absolutely insane, scary and almost foreign to me. But people actually do things like that. Amazing.
What's even more amazing is that the human body can do it. It's been proven time and time again just how far the human body can be physically pushed. Even without the comfort of an aid station every time you need it.
In World War II, an airman by the name of Louis Zamperini was lost at sea for a grueling [something like ] 45 days. No food, no fresh water, only sea. Battling hunger, a fellow airman dying, no rescue in sight. After that, he was captured by the enemy and held as a POW for [something like] three years. Starved, beaten, living in horrendous conditions not even fit for an animal...and he survived. Did I mention that Louis Zamerini was also an Olympic runner? *
There are still situations in the world that make it simply amazing how much the human body can endure. I believe for many of us, it's the mind that has the catching up to do. Why we can't just wait and see is kinda beyond me. Do what we intend to do and see what happens. Can we actually do that? The fear of the unknown is a factor for myself, I get that. But knowing that the human body can endure so much more than we give it credit for might help just a little.
I'm truly hoping as I conquer my 9 miles this weekend that I'll have the clarity to remember people like the Tarahumara 'running people' and Louis Zamperini and recall what they have pushed themselves to do. I'm hoping that when I need to 'go' about mile 2,4,6,7,8, I'll remember that I'm not going to die if I don't get instant relief. I'm not going to have to go another 12 miles with no relief. That in the case of a severe need, I'll simply remember the Kleenex and hop behind a bush. A little uncomfortable? Oh get over it. It's not a permanent thing, it may never be repeated. Push yourself to hard. And who knows? The rest of it might seem relatively easy.
* because I don't want to get sued, I'll add these details might not be entirely correct. This is only a gist, a summary of the book "Unbroken" By Laura Hilenbrand. An amazing story I could not put down!
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