It was a really bad idea.

But I think I finally realized what Psalm 63 means:

God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Running in the sun with the heat unbearably invading every pore, I think I’m viscerally experiencing what it’s like to seek to crave the shade, to be inexorably drawn to it, to seek shelter. It’s quite something to have nothing on your mind but the thought of water, to feel your body on the verge of crumbling until you can get yourself to a fountain and drink deeply and unashamedly.

I experienced today what it meant to know and thirst and crave the living God that much as if life itself depended on it. That’s how I want to live.

--

Another big THANK YOU to all of you who had been instrumental in encouraging me to press on in my training for this event. This event was like no other I've ever been to.

It struck me on race day what a fraternal sport running is; everybody's in it together. So when we all gathered up at the starting line, strangers were giving each other pep talks, finishers walked back on the course to encourage stragglers, and a good bunch of three runners stopped running completely to come to my aid after I graciously faceplanted with a cramped calf.

So the weeks before, I'd been sidelined a bit with a knee injury (tendonitis in my left knee). Therefore, I'd been running only gym workouts for a good two weeks before race day. No long, extended distances, which led me to doubt my readiness on race day.

Typical marathon workouts encourage you to run four or five 20+ mile workouts in your training routine prior to racing. I had been averaging 13-14mi on my long runs in the months prior, so I was about six miles short of being a truly prepared runner.

Still--when the starting gun blew, I found myself in this huge sea of people. It was pretty amazing, this sheer number of crazies like me getting out there to run on a chilly morning. I also noticed some stomach pain; perhaps from the weird PowerBar formula I took an hour before.

The Golden Gate was WAY windier than I'd expected, not doing much for my stomach. I ended up pacing behind guys with big muscles. I don't know why I did; maybe I just assumed they knew what they were doing. I took the first half pretty easy: I ran a 2:03 split (a 9:25/mi pace).

I started to get a bit more into race mentality on the second half. I got it into my mind to break 4 hours, so I knew I had to catch the 2:00 pacer girl (these are runners who guarantee a certain running pace). So the second half was very much a race to catch up to and pass as many people as possible.

People I remember remembering: Big Guy with Big Muscles in a Cutoff Shirt, 2:00 Pacer Girl, Girl in Blue Shirt Who I Couldn't Pass The Last Six Miles, and Tony the Popular Guy in a Purple Shirt (everybody he passed was like "Go, Tony!" or "Hey, Tony!" to which he'd throw up a peace sign and a million-watt grin).

What I didn't expect was how hard The Wall would hit me at the 19 mile mark. We were exiting Golden Gate Park when my body told me, "Andrew, I think I'm done running" and started Cramping Mode, which I hadn't really counted on.
The next seven miles were the Longest hour of my life, and it was essentially a lot of awkward running sprinkled with some intermittent cramps in my foot, my calf and my hamstring. They'd usually take turns, just to keep it interesting. My mind didn't quite appreciate it. Spectators just laughted.

What I don't get is why I didn't get it in my mind to stop and take the time to stretch. I guess I was too doggone set on beating 4 hours, so I'd be running through cramps (my body's obvious way of signaling me to stop). It helped that 2:00 Pacer Girl was in striking distance, keeping me on pace for better or worse.

So it completely befuddles me that despite these cramps and a fall that I'd run my second half faster than the first: 1:58 (at a respectable 9:13/mi pace). What in the world happened there? No idea.

But let's just say that one of the greatest feelings in the world (well.. it's pretty up there) is crossing that finish line and just feeling your body scream for joy of Being Done. And is that food on those tables over there? Yeah, I'll be over there.

Major props to Tony for finishing his half marathon in style and being a great help in IJM fundraising. Of course, Sarah was as patient and amazing as ever in trucking our weary bodies all around SF that morning and afternoon.

All in all, a wonderful feeling, this marathon thing. Really, I'm not crazy. I just like the feeling of moving forward, the inexorable draw toward the finish line and the charge to persevere.

There's talk of running more races in the fall. Anybody interested?

A Smorgasbord of Pain!

(More on Flickr, of course)

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What a feeling: running in a huge sea of people, making conversation with strangers, wondering what their stories are.

What a feeling: crossing the Golden Gate bridge at 7 in the morning, the wind blowing you about and the North Bay illuminated by shafts of light running through the clouds. The eucalyptus trees frame the coast perfectly and insulate you from the seaside gusts.

What a feeling: high-fiving strangers, gulping down energy drinks and carb gel at random intervals. A random Trojan warrior shows up here and there running in full armor.

What a feeling: running through cramps over the last 8 miles, your face contorted in every possible way (and ruining all of your photographs), your mind turned to mush and all higher-level mind faculties shut down, leaving you to just run and breathe and ignore the pain.

What a feeling: cramping up and faceplanting a mile from the finish and having three guys come to your help. One of them offers you salt tablets, his energy drink and runs with you a short distance making sure you're all right.

What a feeling: feeding off the energy of thousands, people running with various disabilities, running for causes. You bump into a few other runners with IJM t-shirts and you swap stories.

What a feeling: tears forming in your eyes; you wonder if it's because of the pain or if you're just really that emotional.

--

To be continued--more thoughts and photos to come!

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I'm excited, no doubt. Tony and I are going to run this race and we are going to finish strong.

Some pre-marathon thoughts:

• I need to be hydrating constantly today and into tonight so my body has enough fluids to start the race.
• I've been eating lots of carbs lately--wheat bread and pasta and noodles and such. I won't be overdoing the carb-loading tonight.
• Note to self: no fibers today. Roughage = digestive tract activity = really bad on race day.
• I'm visualizing the course and watching course videos. Also checking out the map and making mental notes.
• When will I hit The Wall? What are my strategies to get through it? I have no idea.
• San Francisco is beautiful. I am stoked.

I just found out that my friend Alvin is the lead cyclist on my wave--how cool is that?!

Fundraising update!

Today is the LAST DAY of fundraising for the International Justice Mission! To-date, we've raised over $650 -- great job, everyone! Let's make good on the goal of $1000. Find out how we're doing, or just go donate now! »

Again, if you're interested, keep up to date on my pre- and post-race thoughts in my Twitter feed.

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The modern-day slave trade

Last semester, a few friends of mine taught a DeCal course on "The Modern Slave Trade". I had the privilege of attending one of their sessions on modern-day sex trafficking, its roots and how it rears its ugly head today. On that day and through some subsequent research, I learned:

• Women and children of little-to-no-education are the most common victims of the slave trade.
• There are 1.2 million child sex slaves, according to UNICEF. That's just the children.
• The sex trade depends on visibility. Thus, one solution is simple: prosecute hard, drive it underground and starve it.
• It could start with kidnapping: drugged food or drinks. It could start with deception: a promise of a better job in another city.
• Deception is key: you could be tricked by somebody you trust.
• Victims often become perpetrators in this twisted world
• Slavery can be fought with education

In the course of that session, we watched an NBC Dateline episode that sent a crew with a hidden camera along with IJM investigators to bust a sex trafficking operation in Cambodia. A brief summary of that episode:

Why I care

I was feeling all sorts of things after watching the video: shock, utter disgust and anger. I think what particularly riles me about this issue is the utter helplessness of the victims and the cruelty of the perpetrators. What is even more disgusting is how rampant human trafficking is today (it's in our own backyard, for heaven's sakes: Raj Properties, anybody?).

The heartless exploitation of another human being is something that we should hate with a passion. We should despise it, condemn it, get all riled-up when we hear of it. But we can't stay there; we need to do something about it.

There's more to come

I haven't told you yet how I plan to fundraise for this cause. There's some plan to do some online fundraising, as well as some sort of word-of-mouth work I'd love to have you involved in. I hope to continue writing to further flesh out my thoughts and feelings about this heavy topic.

But I'll open this up for discussion: what are your thoughts about human trafficking?

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