[ad_1]
This fall, two relay teams of four Daily Arts staffers will train for and run the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon. But as writers, we can’t just run the race — we have to write about our past experiences with running, how we are preparing for the marathon, what we look forward to and what we are afraid of.
Zach “Old, frail and busy” Loveall
This is my third time running the marathon relay with Arts, and it’s the first time I’ve felt truly ready for my leg in the weeks leading up to the marathon. In previous years, I’ve worried on some level about just finishing in the first place and this time I’ve set high goals for myself. I’ve had months of fairly consistent running, with my experiences of previous relays with Arts having solidly established running as a hobby of mine. Luckily for me, this is the year I needed an early start on training the most. On top of running the relay with Arts, I’m now in charge of running the Arts section of The Michigan Daily. On top of trying to graduate on time, I’ve added all of the many hours necessary for a newspaper section to function to my schedule. Running has been sidelined and squeezed between class and work, and my evening runs have been shortened so I have time to eat dinner.
My biggest worry for running is currently whether I remember to pick up the registration packet before the day of the marathon. But while I might be swamped with work, I’m thrilled to put on my running shoes and hit the pavement. The thrill and euphoria of running never go away and are only heightened by the camaraderie in a relay team. When I start running through the Nichols Arboretum or under the clock tower, the last thing I’m thinking about is how busy I am.
Managing Arts Editor Zach Loveall can be reached at zloveall@umich.edu
Grace “Why did I commit to this” Sielinski
When people ask me about my hobbies and the well is running dry, sometimes I mention that I run occasionally. This is a lie. I go outside and move my legs in a back-and-forth motion, but calling it “running” is a stretch. A generous person would call it a “slow jog,” but I have had instances where speedwalkers have made it around the block faster than I have. I am the yin to Tigst Assefa’s yang; without me, she could not exist. The universe would implode from the imbalance.
Still, I can carry my slow-motion body through a good amount of miles, and with my teammate’s support, I’m excited to be able to say I ran a goddamn Boston Marathon qualifying race — at least part of it. I tried to “run” a half-marathon the year before last, but I sprained my leg halfway through training and derailed my entire summer. I’ve done a 10K since then, but this atmosphere is different: People will actually be depending on me to run. Yikes! That’s a lot of pressure! But it’s also a great motivator, and I’m looking forward to the camaraderie this will inspire among our perhaps less-than-traditionally-athletic motley crew of runners.
To everyone on my team: You will have to wait well over an hour for me to finish my leg. Sorry about that.
Daily Arts Writer Grace Sielinski can be reached at gsielins@umich.edu.
Kristen “Delusions of grandeur” Su
This is my second time doing the Arts marathon. Despite telling myself that my somewhat inconsistent running routine would continue through the winter, the only consistent parts of my daily routine are my unrelenting homework procrastination efforts via watching elite track and field races. I can tell you the exact time of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s latest 400-meter hurdles world record at the Paris Olympics, but I can’t tell you the last time that I set foot on a real track.
Before my imagination can run wild with possibilities of what the past year would have looked like if I continued my running efforts, I’m just going to set myself a simple goal: running my 6.5-mile leg one minute faster than last year. Next year, if (or when) I fail at consistently running again, I’ll set myself the goal of running one minute faster than this year. I said in last year’s blurb that I hope to run a marathon in 10 years. If I can carry the mindset of “how hard can it be?” and set myself simple goals, hopefully my slow and somewhat unsteady process will bring success in the end.
Daily Arts Writer Kristen Su can be reached at krsu@umich.edu.
Holly “Not long for this world” Tsch
I’m not going to lie to you, I haven’t purposely run since a 5k when I was, like, 10 years old. I was a swimmer in high school, and I do light cardio in the mornings on a broken exercise bike. When telling my friends about this, I’ve gotten three “Oh god, really?”s and two “That’s unfortunate”s. I do love suffering, and think this will be edifying, if nothing else. I’ve also been sick two times this fall, so I’m getting into it a bit late. My main goal is to survive. My secondary goal is to finish my approximately 6.5-mile segment. Preferably in less than two hours.
I am my team’s anchor, which makes me excited to pass that responsibility onto someone else! Namely, the four-person hype team composed of the two members of Steely Dan and the two members of Machine Girl. They have faithfully soundtracked my training and will soundtrack my actual leg of the run as well. To my wonderful teammates: Once I take the field, you will have already finished, and you should take more pride in that than whatever time the team may or may not achieve.
Digital Culture Beat Editor Holly Tsch can be reached at htsch@umich.edu.
Olivia “Here for a good time and probably also a long time” Tarling
I have never run the Arts marathon. But I did run track in middle school and complain the entire time like I didn’t sign up for it. So get ready, Ann Arbor. I’m coming to groan my way around Tree Town this October.
Although track wasn’t my strong suit, I later fell head over heels for indoor running. Or rather, I fell head over heels for an activity where I could turn my brain off and stare at the wall for an hour while blasting Taylor Swift in my headphones. I haven’t run outside much since my middle school days. But sometimes I put my future self in difficult situations and hope she’ll be fine, like a mama bird shoving her hatchling from the nest. And that is exactly what I’ve done here. July Olivia is currently my worst enemy but hopefully October Olivia will feel differently about that.
How do I organize my day around running a partial marathon? Am I allowed to wear headphones or will I get dirty looks from neon-wearing people who use Strava like social media? Am I even capable of running seven miles straight without walking or throwing up? I can’t wait to find out with the rest of my teammates this Oct. 13!
TV Beat Editor Olivia Tarling can be reached at tarling@umich.edu.
James “Ankle Never Stops Hurting” Johnston
Four years ago, I was not capable of running more than a mile without vomiting. I used to dread running. Despite being underweight, anytime I ran, my body felt as if it was unsteady, my limbs felt like stone and the contents of my stomach sloshed around like a water balloon filled with pain.
Yet eventually, I found a catharsis in the structured, yet sweaty and unglamorous constant pain and nausea that running would entail. I went from one mile to two, two miles to three, three miles to four and so on and so forth until hitting eight consistently. The pride I felt from desperately dragging myself longer distances motivated me to sign up for the Daily Arts Marathon this year.
Finding a practical use for all of the training I’ve done is a nice bonus, but the act of running will always be rewarding in and of itself. Any time I feel like I want to scream, I let my withered and battered lungs do the screaming for me through ragged gasping breaths.
Daily Arts Writer James Johnston can be reached at johnstjc@umich.edu.
Awmeo “????” Azad
Why run? The only exercise that’s ever worked for me is weightlifting. Going from squatting 50 pounds to 150 pounds in a matter of weeks is pure intoxication. As someone who grew up as the prototypical runt, nose buried in books and often bedridden from the world’s worst eczema, weightlifting offered a different narrative for my body. Well, my body eventually clapped back. During my first semester at the University of Michigan, I needed an MRI and X-rays for mysterious knee issues. Any strength I gained has rotted away and my ego is losing the war.
Running is everything that scares me about exercise. The whole process lights up my lungs. It takes ages. Unlike weightlifting, I never feel stronger afterward, only more sweaty, breathless and humiliated. Besides, I’m so inexperienced that I’m almost convinced I’ll collapse during my leg of the marathon. But maybe exercise shouldn’t be a way to deny or resist the limits of our body. For the moment, while myriad health issues still haunt me, I’m not too worried about being particularly fast or strong. Is exceptional strength and speed the only thing we want out of our bodies? I want to feel something in my bones and feel it with people I care about.
Daily Arts Writer Awmeo Azad can be reached at awmeo@umich.edu.
Nicolas “Why are we still here? Just to suffer?” Eisenberg
I’ve crossed the finish line of a Marathon — twice. I say this not intending to flex my superior athletic ability, but so I can pose this not-so-rhetorical question to myself: “Why am I yet again training to run a long-distance race?” Is it for myself? Not particularly; The health benefits of more long-distance running are outweighed slightly by the growing pains in my knees and shins, a sign that my lack of proper stretching technique is finally catching up with me. As for bragging rights, there are diminishing returns after the first marathon, and I’m not particularly a braggadocious individual.
Running for me is a practice that lets me forget about my other concerns while I’m doing it. When I’m out and about on a long-distance run, the only thing that I’m aware of is my body, and whatever trashy high-BPM JPOP song is helping me keep momentum. I’m not sure I’ll run far or long enough to achieve the true “zen” feeling that is runner’s high, but considering the Ann Arbor Marathon is two big loops (a distance runner’s nightmare), I think I’m fine with that.
If I had to pin down why I signed up for this, it’s because I hoped to recapture the same intense drive that compelled me to run in high school, despite my body’s protests. While it’s up in the air whether or not I’ll complete another marathon, the community that marathon training creates is truly wonderful, and being able to be a part of it makes the grueling runs worth it. To my Arts runners-in-arms, I wish you all the best of luck, and I hope that your runs are memorable, if nothing else.
Daily Arts Writer Nicolas Eisenberg can be reached at niceisen@umich.edu.
Related articles
[ad_2]
Source link
