Marathon to Marathon to Marathon

OK, the marathon I'm trying to get ready for is called Marathon to Marathon. It starts in a small west Texas town called Alpine, and ends in a smaller town called Marathon. Hence the name. You know all those movies and films which show that vast open rugged Texas terrain, in the midst of 5000ft peaks? Well, this is the place. It's a place of extreme solitude. Alpine boast a little college called Sul Ross, but frankly, I've never been to the little railroad junction Marathon. A whole 65 people populate the county above these towns. This is the area that occupies over half your drive from El Paso to Houston. See, Texas is the only state you can drive 500 miles east and still be in west Texas.

Well, this week starts my third week of training. I already had begun to lose focus, only doing about half the runs I should be. That is until Sunday morning came. I got up about 7:15 and decided I need to get the day's run in. See, Sunday is the long run of the week. It's the run that shocks your body and makes a man out of ya, so to speak. And this run was to be 9 miles. The most I have ever run before was 6 miles. I knew this would be a test.

After getting my proper gear on, and loosely lacing up my shoes, I hit the road. I finally got a bit winded at mile 7. Wow, I was doing great. Sure, my mph was slow, but my body felt good. Until I hit mile 9. All of a sudden, my gut felt like I just got sucker-punched. You know, when the entire area from just under the ribcage to top of your legs beckons you to curl into a ball. That's right, I had to go number 2. So I had a mile to go and my body is trying to spring clean. I am thinking I can't make it. I don't want to walk, that just prolongs this grueling pain, but running just intensifies it. I'm in a fix. That's when I see the construction site. We all know what construction sites have....porta-a-potties. Good lord it stunk from the visitors before me. It looked like the entire Texas Guard used this thing. You know what they say they though, you gotta fight fire with fire.

Well, I made the last mile on a jog. I completed my run. Now I'm motivated again. I feel like I can do this. However, my digestive track may disagree. I'll keep you informed, though not too graphically.