….and My Story Runs On….
I used to ask this question every year I participated in the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day in Phoenix. I am the founder of Team Las Bombas and walked 60 miles in 3 days from 2005-2009. I was not a runner at that time but I remember pondering over this question…
This year, they announced that it was going to be the last year in Phoenix. Since I’ve been very active with my team even if I haven’t been walking, I decided to raise the $2300 and walk 60 miles this weekend with my team.
WOW! I only have 3 marathons under my belt right now, but I can say, hands down, I would prefer to run a marathon any day before I walked 20 miles in 1 day, let alone another 20 miles for 2 more days!
Why?
Mainly because you are on your feet for a much longer period of time and this takes a toll on your body and mind. On Saturday, I walked 21 miles in 9.5 hours while I could run a marathon in about 5:15. Keep in mind that I was using my ChiWalking skills as much as possible so it wasn’t really too bad for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy I did it! But if I had to really decide between one or the other, now that I’ve done both, I would run a marathon.
Why am I sharing this?
This is one of my all time favorite quotes. I am sharing this to let people know that regardless of what event you may choose to do, it’s going to get you out of your comfort zone and before you know it, you will literally astound yourself at what you can do!
So don’t be afraid….set a goal outside your comfort zone, whether it’s walking 60 miles or running a marathon, and start astounding yourself!
Have you done the Breast Cancer 3-Day and/or a marathon? Which do you think is harder and why? Curious to hear your opinion 😉
From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)
P.S. My friend GPSd our route:
Day 1: 18.95 miles in 8:20 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073484)
Day 2: 20 miles in 9:32 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073501)
Day 3: 16.77 miles in 7:13 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/404073524)
Great quote, and another great post, Lisa. I’ve never walked a 3-day (have always wanted to, but deterred by fundraising commitment), but who knows? Perhaps one day I will astound myself and actually do it. I do agree that running a marathon (even tho I haven’t done that either — yet) would be easier, as I remember doing a walk-a-thon waaaayy back in high school. 25 miles for some organization I don’t even remember now. But what I do remember is walking it in my saddle shoes (true story) for 10-12 hours, which I had to take off and finish the course barefooted. You can imagine the blisters, callouses and sheer agony I was in after that. Literally couldn’t walk the next day. But at the time it was worth it.
Sorry you suffered through this. Even a non-competitive event of this distance requires preparation. Both activities have their degree of difficulty but being totally different, any comparison by an individual would be totally subjective. For me, walking 20 miles non-competitively (fastest 5:15) while causing discomfort, cannot compare to the stess and strain my body takes in a marathon.
Subjective by individual for sure! I definitely need to give credit to the ChiRunning and ChiWalking technique though…using both of these methods have significantly reduced any discomfort, stress and strain on my body during the 3-Day and my marathons. 😉