Soundtrack: Moby, Run On
here we go..there is history between me and my first official (half) marathon. I drag with me other 2 crazy warriors but i did a favor to them because at least they had someone to blame!
the official decision was taken in June. I still remember that day... I've always run but just for myself, it simply keeps me calm (very difficult for me) and makes me feel better. When I run everything changes: I see people like they're slower than usual, the landscape is my road and I have the time to think...which is not always a good thing but in this case it is: I can kick out all my rage.
I don't know why but deep down I am constantly furious. I know that maybe sounds like a negative thing but it's not. I get mad because I want to change everything that for me it's wrong or doesn't work. It's motivational rage like a note that reminds me "you can't give up". It's a blind fire that burns inside me without consume my flesh and maybe that's why I can be strong. I get mad because everything that I do matters and I would love be the same for everyone. Lots of people think that I am in this way just because I'm young and not disillusioned yet...well it's true I am young, but I am also disillusioned in fact I've always known that if I'd wanted to do a good job in research I would have gone in another country but I took the decision anyway..and I was 19 years old. I don't believe in anything if someone doesn't prove it (or at least I don't trust in anything without asking few questions before) and I take my risks but facing the truth not hoping for the best... even if I know that could be a huge fiasco. I am capable of going against statistics but I want to know what I'm going to deal with.
My rage is my energy, my gas, my ATP (NEEEEEERD)....so thank you Beppe Grillo..you make pissed me off every day!
But let's go back to the marathon: first of all here everyone runs and every week you can run a different marathon, is something pretty well-established in the "American culture" and can be veeery funny because each one has his own theme...so the pink marathon for example has a pink shirt or other accessories with the same color or the graffiti run was with air color during tha race that ran over the runners!do you remember that this is America?
BUT let me say something... every marathon runner would say to you that you don't run with your legs, but with your mind...BULLSHIT!! trust me when I was at my 20th km I could definitely feel the weight of my legs! but we did it! and some of us thought the opposite just few weeks ago, that's a double win! every time that we decide that something it's impossible...we must push harder and it's never too late to do that! our challenge actually started off like a joke: we wanted to do an official run but not too long...so here with no reason sometimes they use km (and that's why sometimes you see 8k for example) and for other distances they use miles..so we decided to run the 13.1 MILES thinking we were subscribing for 13 KM because the web site was not so clear...ok fair enoght we can be very stupid...I know! Can you imagine the face of my co-runner when she found out that we submitted for THAT distance?? and we even payed for! but then we never stop the work out...and the last month we also didn't drink! can you understand what a sacrifice we did?!
This half marathon became a mutual project for some of us here, but when another runner princess decided last minute to join us..that was the moment when I realized that we were sharing a great personal experience (I'm not writing this just because they read my blog...I swear! ).
And here we are...three days before with no idea of the final result. Here was kind of big deal...we choose the official marathon of the city (of course) so the entire week was dedicated to this...like a huge flashing billboard city, Philly just enlightened for all of us. Every bus, every free wall was covered with a poster...just in case we forget about it! I spent the last 2 weeks watching a huge poster on my metro house station thinking: "It's the final countdown..taratatta, tarattattattaaaaa!!!"
And since was a great physical stress for our magnificent bodies we went to De Bruno Bros to get some REAL PROSCIUTTO for breakfast (wow...i didn't even remember how good is)...let's say that we set up the champions breakfast: prosciutto, peanut butter and jam!
And that was the minimum I would say...we got up at 4 am to be at the starting point before 5:30 (was suggested on the web site even if the run start was at 7 am)... was still dark when we left the house all together, just with our running shoes (my bright red shoes) and a number with our names printed on...too excited for being sleepy. Was like a Nike spot (pretty cool one)...we crossed people on our way, and we joined them to reach the Art Museum while the sun was starting to raise.
We were divided in corrals by color and every corral had an eximated time of finishing. And when 5 minutes before starting I noticed that on my phone wasn't any song of my playlist...I thought that everything was lost...just youtube could save me...so I ran for more than 21 km without my personal playlis...triple win! and thanks to Rudimental...they were my doping!
Of course if I am here writing it means that we did it...without dying! and if this is not enoght...we decided to do a road trip up to the National Park of Great Smokey Mountains the next week (we crossed 5 states).
So...
"ceeeeelebrate good times
c'mon! let's celebrate!"
