Los Angeles Marathon

As I wrote yesterday a marathon consists of 26.2 miles and some people feel this is a very long distance and others feel it is not. Today I had the great pleasure of taking part in the Los Angeles Marathon and it was one of those days where 26.2 miles felt very long. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to run in this spectacular event and I truly do live a blessed life.

It was not my best marathon and it was not my worst marathon it was somewhere in between. My goal was to run the 26.2 miles in about 3 1/2 hours or so however; unfortunately I was closer to the 4 hour range. Personally I was disappointed because I wasn't able to accomplish my time goal but I did start and finish the marathon. Starting and finishing a marathon means so much more to me than any silly personal time goal because finishing an event such as the Los Angeles Marathon is something that not many people do. This does not make me any better than any one else it just gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I was able to run with a very nice lady who was also from Southern California for the first 17 miles. This is unusual for me because all of my training and all of my previous (4) marathons had been run alone. As I ran with this total stranger and as we chatted I thought how good life has become. This nice lady was a few years older than me (I am 40 years old) and has two teenage children; a daughter 18 and a son 16. She talked about her children and how proud she was of them and I talked about my children and how proud I was of them as well. We were going at a very good pace because our time goals were essentially the same. She was more of a seasoned runner than myself with this being her 8th LA Marathon and 10th marathon overall.

I was never a big believer of coincidences in the past in fact I rarely ever thought of random events as anything because I was too fixated on my gambling. Today was a great example of my Higher Power at work; this nice lady who I met coming out of the hotel and as we walked to the start line with 25,000 other participants we were separated. However; around mile 2 I was able to spot her and run with her for the next 17 miles. I know she was put there for a reason; she is at a point in her life where I will be in the next ten years. She has been married for 25 years; has a daughter which will be going to college this September, she donates a great deal of her time to help under privileged teenagers and she runs marathons very well I might add. It appeared to me this nice lady had such a sense of serenity which was amazing and refreshing.

As we were running I was taking in everything this lady was saying and also trying to concentrate on my running form. Even though I had a great first half of the race and was right on pace to finish with my time goal I didn't feel all that great physically and my emotions were running out of gas as well. I think my emotions were running low because of the wonderful Gamblers Anonymous celebration the day before. This celebration was so emotional that by the 18 mile I was literally running on fumes. This nice lady continued her pace and I slowed my down considerably.

In the past I would have been so mad at myself for slowing down and at a few points even walking but I wasn't out there to win the race I was out there to enjoy myself and take life in. I had the pleasure of meeting a total stranger and sharing some great conversation for 2 hours. I was able to see the city of LA from a vantage point that not many people get to shared. I felt the inspiration from the crowd and the other runners so there was no reason to get mad at myself. Sure I would have liked to have finished the race a little faster but I would have missed the message that was presented to me. This message which has been learned from the Gamblers Anonymous Program and my Higher Power is to enjoy today because this is all I have. Today was a blessing and I am so grateful to have experienced all the things that have been presented to me.

Another one of those blessings was waiting for me at the finish line in my wife and children. As I ran across the finish line and looked for my family I had chills running down my spine; these three people are my inspiration. The moment I spotted my 8 year old daughter and saw her big bright smile I had tears in my eyes. Then I saw my son and my wife and I was filled with emotions. My son handed me a big beautiful bouquet of flowers and I was deeply touched. Then I handed the medal I received for finishing the race to my daughter and her eyes got even bigger and her smile brighter. (As a side note I alternate giving the medals to my daughter and son; today was my daughter's turn because I gave my son the medal from the last marathon.)

These are the moments in life which have a lasting meaning. All those moments I had when I was gambling were fleeting and now these moments will last forever. I am a blessed man and I have so many people to thank for teaching me all of my blessing were right in front of me. I am so happy to finally realize all the good there is to life and now I am truly experiencing and cherishing life.