A Little bit of pie before Thanksgiving

This pie I was about to eat was in the works six months ago. I had no idea I was making it but I sure was excited while talking about it and getting ready for it. Little did I know how good it would taste. The recipe started with my wife saying “We should run the half marathon in Philadelphia.” Right off the bat I said we should double the recipe! What is the point of running a half marathon when you can do the whole thing? It’s like making a killer pie-crust and not having a yummy filling for it.

As we all know new recipes require you to read the ingredients and make sure you have everything, then figure out how long it takes. I went down the list of things you’d need for a marathon: two feet; check, two legs; check, health;…well I’m breathing…check, and six months to train. I do have the six months, finding the time to train within those six months was a different story. I gathered my feet and fitted them with a new pair of running shoes, dressed my legs in shorts and set out to train. Running was going well while building up the mileage then came “work.” I was going to Kentucky to install a mural, then travel some of the southern states. Kentucky is home of Bourbon trail and the south is where they fry everything. “This is going to be easy,” I thought.  Then, more work abroad in Switzerland came. Cheese and wine and food smothered with heavy cream sauces. Can you see my weakness here? Anything that has to do with not training for a marathon! Through the months I ran but nothing like the recipe required.

Four days before the big day…Thanksgiving, I was in Philadelphia standing at the starting gate, not convinced I was going to run a marathon. I thought I might but I knew it probably wasn’t going to happen. During my test runs my knee wouldn’t let me go further than nine miles. The correct amount of distance for a marathon is 26.2 miles. I did not have all the ingredients just two good legs. But with a dash of determination, a cup of cheer, and a big gulp of pride, I made a wonderful humble pie and ran a half  marathon.