I ran 17 miles on Saturday. Your reaction to that likely depends on your own experience. If you have never trained for a marathon, chances are this seems like a daunting distance to run. If you have, or are currently, you probably think, "yeah, I did 20". Or "I gotta do that this weekend". Then there is always the non-runner comedian who says, "Oh yeah? I've got a car!"
Well, so do I, and I realize it would be much easier to cover 17 miles in a car. But running isn't supposed to be easy. One of the thoughts I came away with after reading the book on Ultra marathon running by Dean Karnazes (Utramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner) was the idea of 'stepping out of your comfort zone'. For him that means running 150 miles rather than 100. But really, his point is that we never really gain anything in life unless we challenge ourselves.
That's why I began this entry by telling you I ran 17 miles. I have run more than a dozen 
marathons, and that means I have also done quite a few runs longer than 16 miles. But no matter how many times I have done it over the years, running further than 14 miles causes a little anxiety. My weekend long runs even when I'm not training for anything often go up to about 13 miles, so that is still within my 'comfort zone'.
But the day before getting up to run longer than that usually has me paying quite a bit more attention to what I eat, and the amount of sleep I get. There are also plenty of doubts about whether I will survive the distance intact, and expectations of pain. Experience should tell me than I will be just fine.
I feel the same way leading up to many public speaking appointments. Despite what I do for a living, I do not relish public speaking. My personality is a little reserved and quiet. It takes effort to force myself to be more outgoing. Last week I also had to emcee an event for about 1000 people in the big ballroom at Navy Pier. I have done this same event for the last five years, but every year I feel anxiety the day before. And every year, it get through it just fine. And when it's done I feel a nice sense of relief and accomplishment.
That's why, in a nutshell, that we should all step out of our comfort zones from time to time. I believe in the old adage about risk and reward. If you never put yourself out there, you never learn what you are capable of. Whether it is public speaking, running, or tiddly winks that you challenge yourself with, you are the one with the most to gain by giving it a shot. You are also the one with the most to lose by standing on the sidelines.
I believe that is why we run in the first place. Noone really cares about whether we reach our goals as much as ourselves. When we succeed, noone feels the sense of accomplishment that we do. And when we decide against pushing ourselves, we are letting noone down as much as ourselves.
I often think after running a marathon that it was my last. After all, what more do I have to prove to myself? But a couple weeks later, I usually get the bug again and realize I'm too young to sit back and relax for the next 40 years. So I find another race to challenge myself with. I step out of the comfort zone, and in doing so, feel like I am getting more out of what life has to offer. Oh, and that 17 miler I was so nervous about? It was a really nice run, and I survived just fine.
By the way, speaking of taking risks, how about the Olympic marathon race by former Chicago winner Constantina Tomescu Dita! She left the field behind early, and took the chance that she could hold on. It paid off! Congratulations to her on the gold medal. I got the chance to meet her a couple years ago and was very impressed by how unassuming she is. She is also tiny! But she ran a great race, and destroyed a great field. Hopefully, she'll be back to race in Chicago again soon.
And finally, speaking of marathon training, the CARA 20 mile training run is filling up quickly. I ran it last year and it was one of the most enjoyable runs of the year for me. You can find the info on the CARA website: www.cararuns.org
See you on the roads...
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