Some thoughts have been circling in my head since completing my second marathon a couple of days ago. it was the kind of run a runner always hopes to have. i felt great, i finished faster than i ever thought i could, and it was a beautiful day to run 26.2 miles.  if you are a runner, you understand why i had to run that far. if not, you think we runners are crazy, and i guess we are, a little. and life is good. -- m

i am a runner.

i have never had runner's high, but i did get hemorrhoids from my last marathon.
i am a runner.

i have sore quads and i grunt when i sit, because less than 48 hours ago, while others were enjoying coffee and the sunday paper, i was running 26.2 miles without stopping.
i am a runner.

(Click photo to enlarge.)here's my first marathon medal.  i earned it at age 44.  it says,
i am a runner.

3 years, 4 months, 14 days and 6 hours ago, i got my overweight, over-40 body up off my couch and put on 20 year old tennis shoes and stumbled 3/4 of a mile.  but i didn't quit. and i have since run 2 marathons, 2 half marathons, a 10K, several 5Ks and 1,000 training miles in between.
i am a runner.

my running shoes are the most expensive shoes i own and my running pants cost more than 3 pairs of my dress slacks.
i am a runner.

i don't avoid carbs, i eat them.
i am a runner.

Notice the runner's watch with my wedding dress! (Click photo to enlarge.)i wear a $6 waterproof sports watch from wal-mart that has a stopwatch and lights up in the dark, and a bra that smashes my boobs as flat as possible.
i am a runner.

i run at 5 am and talk about paces and races, poop issues and port-a-potties.
i am a runner.

Never thought I'd welcome the sight of one of these! (Click photo to enlarge.) my friends have lost toenails, had bleeding nipples and blisters on all 10 toes at once.
i am a runner.

i pay good money to run behind thousands of people along hard roads littered with discarded clothing, orange peels and thousands of paper cups, dodging snot rockets and vomit, searching for the next mile marker and a glimpse of Matthew McConaughey's butt.
i am a runner.

i have worn a trash sack and burglar mask and stood shivering in the rain for an hour in the freezing pre-dawn.
i am a runner.

i know what BodyGlide, Gu and VOMax are.
i am a runner.

i subscribe to Runner's World.
i am a runner.

i number among the 2% of people who have completed a marathon.
i am a runner.

i am strong, i am confident. i am successful.
i am a runner.

(Click photo to enlarge.)