Kiss your wife

The theme for this week's Take it and Run Thursday is "As you begin your marathon training, don't forget..." I suspect others will have good advice about running the thing. Not me. My advice is "don't forget to kiss your wife (or kids, or dog, or boyfriend, or or or)."

I mean this both literally and figuratively. Literally: Marathon training takes a lot of physical energy. You'll probably be up early and in bed early. Don't forget your relationships, especially the "intimate" ones. Enough said.

Figuratively: I've said repeatedly that I wouldn't have finished the marathon without Meg. She was my biggest cheerleader during the race, keeping me fueled and hydrated when I couldn't do it for my self. But the truth is I probably wouldn't have gotten to the starting line without her either. Although running a marathon is an intensely personal experience, it was really nice to hear her say how proud she was of me, and have her tell people (everyone we met, it seemed like!) that I was running a marathon.

No matter how fast you are, how early you get up, marathon training is going to interfere with the rest of your life. There will be weekend nights you want to stay in and hydrate instead of eating a nice restaurant meal with a bottle of wine. There will be mornings you miss the entire morning routine because your short run took longer than expected. And unless you're a hermit on a remote island (in which case, what marathon are you running? and how are you reading this blog?) it's going to interfere with the lives of people whose life you're in.

So, as you embark on your marathon training, remember you're not in it alone. Thank your partner for packing you a healthy lunch to keep your runner's body fueled. Thank the kids for walking the dog even though it's your turn. Thank your friends for waiting to start Saturday morning's activity until you return from your 20 miles.

Remember to kiss your wife.