Only, it had nothing to do with anything lovey-dovey (come to think of it, there may not have been anything overly lovey-dovey IN this movie... And, by the way, movie spoilers may follow). It had everything to do with reliving my final steps across the marathon finish line.
After my morning run with Tiffany and her pooch, June, I settled onto my couch to watch "Run, Fatboy, Run." I have found that I am a sucker for just about anything that combines film and running. ("St. Ralph" and "Spirit of the Marathon" were the first two films that proved that...) In case you missed the trailers, the theatrical run and the DVD debut, "Run, Fatboy, Run" is the story of a man who, as it turns out, is a bit of a loser -- having left his pregnant fiancee at the alter years earlier. Said girl has a new boyfriend who is handsome, successful, fit -- and happens to run marathons for charity. In order to prove that he has changed and can stick to something, our hero decides to run the London Marathon, which is only weeks away.
The two end up running side by side and start incredibly fast, passing even the elite frontrunners. New boyfriend (now fiance) trips our hero who, we are left to assume, sprains his ankle. But alas, he doesn't give up but begins hobbling toward the finish -- which is still about 23.7 miles away. Night falls and our hero is still hobbling on, followed by crowds of well-wishers and a select circle who try to encourage him to quit (as they bet against him completing the race). We watch as he hits "the wall," bursts through it and eventually is within eye-sight of the finish.
In romantic comedy fashion, his love and their son show up at the finish line and urge him to take those last steps.
This led me to remember turning that last corner, seeing both the finish and my training partner Tiffany and realizing "I'm about to finish a marathon." And I cried, because it is still hard for me to believe I did it. Since these last few weeks have been tough, it was nice reliving that moment and the great sense of accomplishment and sheer joy that accompanied it.
We only ran 2.5 miles this morning, but they were decent miles and at a fast-for-me pace. Amazing what having a pup with you can do. And I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this again -- just in time to base build before half marathon training begins again ;0)
