Personal Narrative: The Chicago Marathon

On a certain level, you know what to do, but sometimes the hints are so subtle they aren’t heeded. Then there are the cases of your conscious mind thinking it has all the answers. Fresh off the Chicago Marathon and my first skydiving experience a few months after that, my mind was open to the next new adventure. I wasn’t actively seeking anything in particular, but just open. When you think like that, things seem to come your way. It’s just a matter of if you’re in tune enough to notice. This was a case where I indeed noticed, but was way out of tune.

Poor time aside, bragging rights were in order after completing the Chicago Marathon for the second time. There were even surrogates at work to help spread the news. Word got to a young lady who had just transferred to my department. She was running a half marathon, and it was just weeks away. She asked if I would like to run it as well. An invite? A pretty girl asking me to run with her? It sounded like a fun time to me. Making new friends had never been my strong suit, so when this opportunity knocked, I answered. Let me rephrase that. It’s not that making friends was a weakness of mine. It was keeping them where I needed help. But in this case, I didn’t have to make an effort. Co-worker, runner, invite-she was even on board for a future skydive. How awesome was this? …show more content…
So although it was “just” a half marathon, it was still going to be a challenge. As it turned out, she is actually a faster runner than I am, which just compounded the challenge. Still, I had conquered taller mountains than this. It was almost a nonchalant attitude, although deep inside I knew I had my work cut out for me. After all, I was the bragging marathon guy. To tank at a half marathon would be quite embarrassing. Eh, I had conquered taller mountains than