Twenty-Six Point Two Years

It's a marathon marriage. This weekend my lovely wife and I celebrate our 26.2 years of wedded bliss. Yes you read correctly.....point two. May 7th is our anniversary and this year we have reached a marathon milestone. A few months ago my wife said something that made me think about it. This year also happened to be the year I ran my first marathon.....and my second....and potentially more by the end of December.

Once I thought about this once in a life benchmark, like Haley's Comet or something, I knew what I had to do to commemorate it. Yep, run 26.2 miles on the anniversary. After all it only happens once! It was great that mathematically it worked to land on the weekend. July 19th exactly. So it had to occur on that exact day. No exceptions....I'm a bit fanatical that way.

It would have been nice if there was a local race that I could enter. However after searching the internet every where nothing really worked. That figures. I guess I could just run somewhere around here.

When I shared my agenda with my wife, she thought I was crazy. But that isn't really anything new.

However I had to add just a bit more craziness. A found a route that would fit perfectly. There is a loop around the lake in our neighborhood that I could run around a few times.......37.4 times to be exact. Yes, I wanted to run the .7 mile circle almost 38 times to total the full distance of the marathon. Now she thought I was off my rocker......that wasn't really anything new either.

She couldn't understand how I could just run the same loop over and over again. That had to be so BORING. Not so. You see there was a reason why I wanted to run this route in celebration of our 26.2 years. The loop, although it may seem like it is just the same thing over and over, it isn't. Each loop symbolizes each day, each week, each month, each year. Everyone of them different. Everyone of them special. Everyone of them I couldn't live without.

Each lap, although the scenery looks the same, just like each day of our lives, there are differences. Different cars from time to time, different people working out in their yards, even the temperature changes from the first lap to the last. Some laps are easy. Some laps are more difficult. Just like our lives. But certainly not BORING.

I broke the run into four individual races. Each race also had a symbolic meaning. They were to represent each of our four children.

The first race began at 8AM. I got to tell you my knee really hurt starting out. Thankfully it worked its way out. Not a bad run, my wife even ran some with me. 26.2 minutes worth! And then joined in later with the dog. That wore him out.

The break in the middle was a bit troublesome. I took my insulin afterwards and my blood sugar dropped to 34. Really had to stuff my face with some food to bring it up. Not really my ideal situation just before my second run. My wife wasn't really excited about me heading back out and said I was crazy......yes, I am!

The second race began at 1PM. To begin running again wasn't easy for me not to mention with the food I ate to bring my blood sugar up. Oh yeah, it started raining some too. Just great. Actually that only lasted a few laps. My wife brought out the dog again and my grandson in the stroller. We did a fast pace walk for one of the laps.

Another break for lunch and protein before the 6PM run. It rained a little more during the break because when I went out it was crazy muggy. A generous application of biofreze on my knees and shins. I have never really ran before at this time of day so it was tough, not to mention another seven miles after the first fourteen......and some more rain.

I lost track of the laps but the Runkeeper kept me straight. Getting really tired now. It's going to be a shorter break but the last run is only 5 miles beginning at 10PM. That is seven and a half laps.....in the dark! My wife said it wasn't important and not to worry about it......come on! Really!? Of course I will do it.

Really tired and not so much ready to head back out in the dark at 10. Muscles in my legs are all sore and tired. Shins hurt the most. Pinky toes don't really appreciate all this running. This last one, even though it was only five miles, was more of a trot than a run. The last five miles of a marathon is always the most difficult and painful no matter how you break it up.

Came back and crash at 11:30, I had did it. I certainly wasn't really ready to run a marathon but I wanted this bad. I wanted to do something crazy, just like my wife said I was......but again we knew that already!

Running around the neighborhood has some advantages. The first being very familiar with the surroundings. Second my neighbors now know I am crazy too. A few of them admired me of my running all day. Lastly, because I was able to break it down into four races, I had a fresh set of clothes for each leg......and a shower after each. Four sets of clothes, four showers, man I really piled up some laundry!

But I did it sweetie, yes it was crazy. It was silly. I could even be call absurd. Running from 8 in the morning until 11:30 at night. I did it not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I wanted to share with the world how much I love my wife. How much she has put up with me all these years but most importantly how much crazy fun we have had.....every minute, every week, every month, every year......absolutely every moment. They all have been a blessed dream. 

Thank you for all the adventures my love. I'm looking to creating many more memories in the next 26.2 years. LOVE YOU FOREVER!

This my friends is what I believe.

PS: I DONT plan on running an ultra for our 50th at age 72.......just FYI

Eugene Thompson

ET This I Believe