Put Your Foot Down

Adidas, the global sportswear company whose running shoes I have bought for the last time, has decided to join Brazil, Uruguay, and other under-achieving South American countries in a denial of history. Apparently, they demanded that the Jerusalem marathon not pass through any areas of “occupied” Jerusalem. So now, the organizers will make sure that none of us run that close to those “illegal” neighborhoods of the city. (Thanks Israel Matzav.)

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Not sure if the sun was setting or rising here

The sun is rising and my legs are burning from the accumulated lactic acid of the night’s running. We just passed 50 kilometers and still have another five to go.

Three of us are left from the four who started out together. I really feel like walking a bit or maybe taking a nap inside one of the hay bales we keep passing in this never ending field. I tell the other guys that I can’t keep up and they should just go ahead. But they slow down insisting that we finish together.

Not wanting to make them walk, I speed up and try to imagine how nice the finish line will feel. For some reason, all I can think about is eating a bowl of tomato soup. I promise myself that within an hour, somehow I will find a bowl and either eat it or soak my feet in it.

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Me and CD Zlotnick after the race

This morning I found myself in the Alon Shevut pool getting ready for the start of my first triathlon. Triathlon? Oh yeah, that’s the crazy sport where lunatics swim, bike, and run because they can’t kill themselves by just doing one of them. Of course, this is not the ultra crazy Iron Man. Just a little Friday morning fun.

My original plan was to train like crazy and hope that everyone else who showed up were fat guys from Queens. (I think this is actually Lance Armstrong’s Tour De France plan.) The first part of the plan worked out.

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By the comments I received – both written and in person – I feel the need to follow up on my post about the Tiveria Marathon. I would not want anyone to think that I believed for one second that finishing the race was more important than preserving my life and health. Besides being against Torah law, it is common sense that you do not place yourself in a dangerous situation.

So isn’t running 42 kilometers by definition dangerous? Actually, not as much as you would believe. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world run marathons and the vast majority are fine except for some temporary aches. (If you are interested, here is an article on the subject: Are Marathons Dangerous? )

Serious medical issues during marathons are rare. With the right preparation, a marathon should be an event that you can look back on all your life with pride and a fond memory. I encourage people to set this goal and then take the time to learn about what it takes. Please don’t take my description of the 2010 Tiveria Marathon as a universal account of what will happen to you.

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Which is the stronger feeling: pain or pride?

Yesterday I completed the Tiveria Marathon for the second time.

It was a day that I will never forget.

And you know what? I’ll wait until the end of this post to determine if that is a good thing.

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