Day 11

I've been thinking a lot about the human body lately. First of all, because there are a lot of days when I don't want to exercise, but then I do, and I feel better. And it's during these times when I think about how blessed I am to have a healthy, strong body that can do things like run. Secondly, I've thought about training a body and it's limitations. Some people would say that if you work hard enough, you can train your body to do anything. I don't think I believe it.

In a way, sometimes I try to convince myself it's real. I found my mantra for this marathon on a page in Shape magazine, and it was a Nike ad, I think. It said "my lungs are a pair of little sissies that need to shut up." Something close to that. So basically, whenever I'm tired or my legs feel like my feet are cement blocks, I just think about this statement and tell my body to shut up and keep going. And it works! But I mean, lots of people have run marathons without stopping, so I'm really not defying any laws of nature or anything.

But sometimes I think about Olympic Marathoners, or people who actually win races, and they run so fast! Constantina Tomescu, the woman who got first place this year ran around a 5 minute mile consistently, for all 26.2 miles, and somehow survived. (She's in her 40s, fyi). Then, just to drive home the point, she ran so many victory laps around the indoor stadium that the announcers stopped counting. And the "slow ones" in the chase pack probably ran about a 5:30 mile, if that. Really?! How? I can't imagine ever running a 5 minute mile once, and definitely not 26 times in a row. So I just wonder what makes an athlete super, and how much heredity plays into these things, and if anyone can really be an olympic-quality runner, or gymnast, or ping-pong player, or whatever.

Even if this isn't the case, I just really think that the human body is amazing, and it's crazy how hard it can work. And the way your muscles move together, and they tear and heal and build themselves, and little joints like ankles support the whole rest of the body. And toes help keep everything balanced. And your hair and toenails just keep growing and growing. And women can grow another human being inside their bellies. And your brain sees and processes and reacts so fast...I don't even know that much about the brain but what I do know is even too much for me to think about sometimes. Have you ever thought about how your body parts move? I wonder about that, like all I have to do is think about moving my arm, and want to move it, and it happens. Really quickly. I don't know all the logistics, but I think it's pretty sweet.

So anyways, the point is I am really thankful for being healthy and able to do everything that I can. There are a lot of people that aren't physically capable to do even everyday things. And I know I'm not always going to be like this either, because bodies get old and they just can't. So whenever I don't want to run, I think about that. And I hope you think about it too, and take care of yourself because you can.

I think I could go on and on forever and take this a billion different ways, but that's enough for today.

ps- today is a gorgeous fall day, and it's warm enough to wear a running skirt, but breezy enough to blow leaves off the trees and send them swirling in the street. I LOVE that. I also love candy corn, especially the little pumpkins. I just can't get enough of it. Well, I really can...but it's still really yummy.