Sub 2.25 or Bankruptcy! by Thomas_Bedford

Life is full of injustice. Here I am checking my bags in and they want to fine me because my luggage is 1kg over my allowance. I find this ironic as I am the lightest I have ever been yet I’m over weight in the eyes of Lisa working at terminal 3!

I always cross my fingers when I approach my seat hoping that I’m not next to a crying baby or someone who wants to share my seat as well as theirs. The seat remained empty at departure time and I started to think how lucky that the seat next to me was free. Then came Lil Miss Snotty… Not a bad looking girl in her early 30’s but today she looked like she had been dragged out a hedge backwards. I could tell straight away she was ill.

Within 30 secs of sitting down she sneezed. Fair enough the girl cant help being ill but when she sneezed she did not even bother attempting to catch it. 20mins into the flight I was surprised she could see the TV screen from her snot collection that the bogeyman would have been proud of.

The one thing I am good at is making a point but she obviously did not understand me when I covered my face with my jacket for the whole flight and tutted every time she coughed and sneezed without protection. Everyone must have thought I was another person overreacting from the big bad press flu sorry, I meant pig flu! I kept telling myself my mind is too strong to contract pig flu. Besides all my mates say I should be immune from it if my ex girlfriends are anything to go by! I still hit the neurofen as soon as i got off the plane.

Landing in LA was a big relief.  The smile on my face was not just down to the gorgeous weather and palm trees greeting me in California but the rain I left behind in London. Managed to get some sleep on the flight so I don’t feel too bad. On the way out, the customs officer asked me what I was doing in town and I replied I was here for the San Diego Marathon to which he asked “oh so you’re a runner, should I know of you?”

I replied “Not yet but wait till Sunday!”

Despite the bravado my taper has not gone to plan and I’m not feeling fresh like I’m meant too. I did a lot of lifting working at the Bupa London 10,000 over the weekend and my arms are suffering today.  I also started to get nervous last week when it finally dropped that my training was over and I could do nothing more to my body to make it run faster. The difference between running a marathon and the shorter distances I used to run as a junior are great. Before running a personal best in the 3k steeplechase I would have run many races on the track to let me know what sort of shape I’m in.  I can honestly say I have no idea what shape I’m in at the moment.  All that I know is that I’m in a different league from when I ran my 2.33 marathon last October.

Maybe that’s the beauty of running marathons. It is a race of the unknown. You have no idea what you are going to feel like on race day and what problems you will have to deal with. I have met so many elite runners who have given everything right in training to run well and suffer from something stupid like a blister or a dodgy stomach. Where is the reward of dedicating 16 or more weeks of training for it to go out the window 15 miles into the ‘marathon exam’?

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” The great Emil Zatopek.

Have just read the previous paragraphs and I’m pleased the positive thoughts are in full flow! Haha. As if on cue the train I’m on from LA to San Diego has just met the Pacific Ocean so I’m smiling again! Maybe I will add a cheeky surf into my taper! The surfers waving at the train seem to think it’s a good idea!