01.28.08

PW and The Half Marathon

Posted in General, Notes from PW, Public Relations at 1:15 pm EST by MichelePW

Yes I did it again. Another marathon. Except this one was a half marathon in Phoenix (a mere 13.1 miles) versus the 26.2 mile jaunt I did last June in San Diego (and yes, I’m signed up to go again).

I don’t run the marathons, I walk or walk with a little running. This time was a success because I completed it in 3 hours and 6 minutes, averaging about a 13-minute mile or so, which was my goal. (Actually, my goal was a 15-minute mile so it was better than my goal). I also considered it a success because I felt better than I did after San Diego (namely like I wasn’t going to die).

I recovered a lot faster than San Diego as well, unless you count the humongous bruise on my knee, which I got falling in the hot tub after the race. (It’s been a week and it’s still purple.) I’m just lucky I didn’t land on my head, which is what would have happened if my knee didn’t break my fall.

One of my friends asked me why I walk marathons. And that got me thinking. Why DO I do them? I really don’t completely enjoy them. I like to exercise and walk (I know, I’m a bit weird, for a writer I actually don’t sit as much as you’d think I would and am always jumping up and down during the day getting myself water and tea and pacing on the phone and what not). And I walk a lot on a day-to-day basis, but for the most part I don’t push myself. I prefer leisurely strolls to trying to break a 15-minute mile for 13 miles in a row.

So being in a race situation and feeling the constant pressure to go faster is wearing on me. (In fact, I think that’s one of the reasons why I felt SO bad in San Diego at the end. They have a cut off where you need to make the 18-mile mark by a certain time or they bus you to the finish line. I was afraid I wasn’t moving fast enough so I kept pushing myself and looking at the time and stressing about not making it. About a half mile after I passed the mark, I felt just awful and wondered if maybe I made a mistake wanting to finish. In retrospect, I think what happened is I had all this adrenaline pumping through me because I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it, and the moment I crossed and I knew I could relax, the adrenaline stopped. So I was no longer getting the extra boost of energy from the adrenaline and that really hurt.)

So back to why I do marathons. I don’t really enjoy them, so why would I torture myself?

Two reasons actually. (And no, neither has to do with me secretly being a masochist.) The first is being in a marathon fuels my competitive spirit. For me, my competitive spirit isn’t fueled by crushing my competition or by beating the next guy. It’s about competing against MYSELF. How can I do better than before? How can I double or triple my business this year? How can I beat my time from last race? That’s what keeps me going, this idea of being better than what I was last year.

The second reason is tied into the first, it keeps me focused on a goal with my exercising. Remember, even though I like to walk, I don’t like to push myself. And if I don’t have a goal for me to do better, then I have no reason to push myself in my exercise sessions. And I also have reasons to skip working out. (I’m human after all, and yes when I get busy, I will let my exercise routine slide or not do as good of workout as I should). But if I have a goal to beat my time in a marathon, now I have a reason to get my butt out there and work a little harder.

There’s actually a third reason as well. I have a group of friends who do the marathons with me, so there’s a great social aspect as well. (Of course, these are the same friends who go out drinking with me, so we have to do the marathons to keep everything in balance.)

Now, I’m not trying to encourage you to sign up for the next marathon or anything like that. But what I am doing is giving you another thing to consider with an exercise program or any other program. What else can it fulfill in your life? What else does it offer you? How can it make you a better person? You might find discover a whole new world out there.

Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of Why Isn’t My Web Site Making Me Any Money? 10 Easy Steps to Make Your Web Site Go Ka-Ching! If you have a Web site and no sales, In 30 minutes or less you can quickly and easily pinpoint EXACTLY what’s wrong with your site and what you need to do to transform it into a money-making machine! Click here to learn more and get your copy.

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