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Braving Boston: Amy’s Journal [Part III]

Posted February 13, 2008 at 02:00 PM by Amy Hinrich

Section: Her Adventure, Her Fitness, Athletics, Training Programs, Her Health, Her Motivation

Woman Jogging This April, Amy Hinrichs will embark on her first ever Boston Marathon. Whether you run ‘em, or only dream about it, join Amy on her training adventure as she prepares to join the thousands of intrepid runners in treading those incomparable 26.2 miles. Check out her other entries here and here, and then read on for more.

Sometimes during marathon training, I find that even blinking takes energy. Yes, blinking. I’d rather my eyes either stay fully closed, or fully open, because all that “in between” eye status is starting to become rather exhausting. Don’t get me started on the transition from sitting to standing, because that is an entirely separate Olympic event. So, I found myself getting ready for a 10 miler the other day, and while trying to gather my Arctic snow running apparel, two conversations were happening within my head. Amy the runner was getting ready to run and Amy the tired was coming up with excuses as to why I should stay in bed.

Amy the Tired: Why are you doing this? It’s 5am. Go back to bed. I am tired.

Amy the Runner: I love this. Be quiet.

AT: Well, my shins hurt. And so does my back.

AR: Where is my wind jacket?

AT: Are you listening to me? I want to go back to sleep.

AR: Yeah, and I don’t want to die running up Heartbreak Hill.

AT: Think of how comfortable your bed sounds right now.

AR: I am too busy thinking about another Boston qualifying time.

AT: I am missing six toenails, and have a blister the size of Jackie O’s sunglasses on my toe.
Boston Marathon
AR: Toenails are overrated.

AT: Seriously, you should just take a day off.

AR: And you should consider taking a vow of silence.

The conversation was something along those lines, and it’s one I have often. There are a lot of mornings I wake up tired, frustrated and bored with the entire routine, and I just want to stay in bed and dream about pretty things, such as an all-inclusive cruise to Fiji. What do I do? Often, I find myself calling my parents. My dad and I have trained for marathons together since we first started running them, and he has been my life-saver on many occasions. When I decided to be insane and run my first marathon, I challenged his sanity as well. He, like me, caved, and the rest is history. My mom is incredibly encouraging and has been my number one supporter throughout all of this. She has been at every single race that my dad and I have ever participated in (including a Half Ironman relay event my dad, sister, and I did together last summer on one of the hottest days in the world) and I find myself continuously blessed by having my dad, who understands the actual task of training, and my mother, who is so willing to provide for me throughout such trials. For the 2006 marathon, my roommate was also training, and while the majority of our training occurred in the summer while we were not roommates, we had a solid month of one another’s company prior to the race. However, that’s a rarity. It’s usually just me training in Chicago, and my father training in Minnesota. That, my friends, can be tremendously boring. I cannot even begin to count how many times I have run down Foster Avenue, and that is not just because I am a horrible math student, thank you.

I know I mentioned in my previous article about having a motivator, and to add to that, I think it’s important to have a supporter as well. I mean, Dr. Scholl’s Gel Arch supporters can only do so much. Sometimes, you need a human being. You can be disciplined, motivated and completely hardcore when it comes to training, but at the end of it all, you’re still 100% human. Humans get tired, and frustrated, and we have doubts, and we find ourselves wearing the lazy singlet. It’s okay. I have probably called my parents over 15 times and said “That’s it, I hate marathons, and I don’t know why I am doing this. This is insane. I hate running, and I hate everything about this. I quit.” This, my active scouts, is when Team Mother and Father come in. They allow me time to vent and flail my marathon hating hands in the air, and then they help me remind myself of why I do this.

Sometimes, no matter how much you love something, you still need to be reminded of it. I love cookies, and sometimes I need to be reminded of that love, so I go out and buy one (or five) and poof! I am in love all over again. I can equally love and hate marathons all in the span of 35 minutes, but the truth is…I don’t actually hate them at all. I love them. Somewhere beneath my shin splints and missing toenails exists a love for every single run, whether completely wonderful or absolutely exhausting, and it is okay to need to be reminded of that.