A Marathoner, I Am

This seems very, very strange. It’s been over two months since I’ve written a blog entry, and that was for the “Heaton World Tour” blog that Holly and I were keeping for our summer travels. Much like last year during the semester, law school pretty much kills any desire I have to write during my break times or at night. With this being my Fall Break, however, I felt that I had no choice but to try and put down some words. A fair amount has happened and is due to happen, so I felt it only fair that I take some “break” time to record it for posterity, and for the millions (and millions) of Heatonholics out there.

And I Ran, I Ran So Far Away

As of Sunday, Oct. 12^th, at approx. 12:43 p.m., I officially became a marathon runner. It was at approximately that time at which I crossed the finish line of the Chicago Marathon. As their slogan proclaims, I raced through “29 Neighborhoods” in the span of 4 hours and 42 minutes, which is how long it took me to complete the race. For those unfamiliar with the length of a marathon, it is 26.2 miles.

I had been pretty anxious to just do it for the two weeks preceding the race. For a year, I had been training, getting my body in shape, running other races, solely to complete this one race. Despite all of that preparation, though, nothing adequately prepares you for the sight of 30,000+ people all lined up to run the exact same route as you. I got there at about at approximately 7:15 a.m. and after checking my gear bag, went and stood in line to use the bathroom one last time. That wait, in itself, was an experience. Just to watch people, to hear the variety of different conversations going on, everyone working out their own version of pre-race jitters, was very fascinating. Those jitters, though, are nothing compared to the vibe you experience once you actually get into the “start corral”. Everyone, for the most part, is quite, or quietly talking to a friend next to them. Everyone is very focused, getting into their respective “zones”.

At 8:00 a.m., the race got under way for the majority of the runners, including myself. For the first two hours, I was a man possessed. I was in a zone that said, “I’m not just gonna finish this race, I’m gonna make it my prison-wife and bend it to me will.” At the half-way point, I was cruising at a 9:00 min/mile pace and was projected to finish the race under four hours. Well, as you can guess, this was simply stupid on my part. I had trained for the last four months at a 10:00 min – 10:30 min/mile pace. I was ultimately killing myself, and by the second half, it began to show. At around 17 miles, my left leg began to cramp like crazy. I was slowed to a hobbled “jog” for at least two or three miles. Combine that with the “red flag” that had gone up because of the unexpected sun beating down, and my pace became what one could call “sluggish”. I finished with a 10:40 min/mile pace.

In the end, though, the experience was amazing. You can’t really explain in words how phenomenal it feels to have literally thousands of people cheering for you for four + hours. There is no section of the race where the route doesn’t have people on both side of the street cheering, holding signs, and calling out the names of racers whose names were on this shirts or bibs. The grandstand at the end was especially mind-blowing. For a brief minute, you know what it must feel like to be a professional athlete.

I want to also make it clear how great it felt to have Holly there in Chicago cheering me on. She went to two different spots along the route, as well as the finish line, to cheer me on. She even made a sign for me. Her support was a key to my finish. She was my number one fan, and it felt awesome. Thanks, Hon!

 

School

What can I say; school has pretty much sucked this semester. As many know, I’m getting both my JD and my MBA. This is my first semester working on both at the same time. On Monday and Wednesday’s, I have classes during the day. On Tuesday and Thursday nights, I have MBA classes. As well, one night a week I have Moot Court competition. On Friday’s, I go to my internship at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. I’m also on the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review. In the end, every week feels like a full speed academic sprint, and I don’t feel like I ever get a chance to catch my breath. Even during a week like this, my “break”, I’ve been working my ace off. May 2010 can not get here soon enough.

 

The M-O-B

On October 31^st, I will be flying into Mobile. That will be the first time I’ve been back home to Mobile since January of 2007. I know, crazy. I’m coming in to town for the wedding of my best friend from middle and high school, Jeff Jensen. It seems crazy to me that it’s been this long since I’ve been to Mobile. I’m anxious to see it again, though. I feel like, for so long, that I’ve been disconnected from my roots. I hope it turns out to be a good weekend.

 

That’s all for now. Will I post again before Christmas? Ehh, who knows? I wouldn’t bet heavily on it, but we’ll see. Until then, one love to you all. Holla.