Jen & the Marathon

Jen, B. and H. ‘ready to run’

Tonight is Culture Night or Menningarnótt in Iceland. It occurs on the 3rd Saturday of August and begins with a marathon, cultural events run throughout the day and it ends with a grand fireworks display.  The marathon is 42 K and then offers ‘lower’ levels for those of us not the traditional running types.

Yes, I know. I have always opted for fast walking, life cycle, swimming, anything but running.  Heck, my motto was "Why run if no one is chasing you?" However, last year while watching the shorter marathons (3 and 10 k), I thought, "Hey, I could do this!"

I remember thinking I could train all year and maybe eke out the 3 kilometer.  I even started running occasionally after my somewhat regularly scheduled workouts.  However, I was slightly derailed this summer from my standard plan and then forgot about it entirely upon our return to Iceland.

My friend, B., reminded me last night and then let me know registration was only until 9 p.m.  Heck, I was already in my jammies and had no intention of going out again.  Then I found out there was also a kids fun run, Lazytown theme, no less.  So, Kelsey and I headed out to sign her up as she has lately shown a great interest in running (although one should know she prefers grass to cement). 

After running into her friend’s mother and scheduling a long overdue playdate, I realized I was being silly.  I didn’t have to run the whole marathon and I bet many people wouldn’t.  Okay, the whole 3 kilometers, not technically the "marathon". 

And we did it!  Despite my lack of preparation, I ran about half the time and feel no worse for the wear.  Later in the afternoon, I ran again (not as properly dressed though) as we realized there was no way Kelsey could do the fun run by herself.  Despite it being billed as an "unaccompanied run" for kids 5 and under, there were just too many people (and strollers!).

She wanted to win, but settled for a medal and a "live" Lazytown show (but not the original cast).  She followed up the run with hours of trampoline jumping and fun with Cailtin and her friend, H., B.’s daughter, over for a pre-birthday sleepover…after all, one has to practice for the, gulp, upcoming slumber party!  Stay tuned….