Sheenae.com

I can finally say that I ran a marathon. This is the second marathon I have completed. The first one I finished in 2005, but I had to start walking about mile 18 because I didn't train properly and give the marathon the respect it deserves. Also, I got really sick about 4 weeks before the marathon, which threw off my training schedule.

That's me with my hands in the air crossing the finish

So, this go around I did it right. My finish time was 5 hours, which isn't awesome, but I kept a pretty consistent pace and I'm proud of myself for running the whole thing. Last time I did the marathon, I started too fast because I got caught up in the excitement of my first marathon and thought I could "bank" minutes, while it made the first half fly by, I found the second half brutal. Today, I stuck to my training pace the whole way and I felt every mile. Nothing was easy. In fact, I finished the last six miles through sheer determination and will power. It felt so good when I crossed the finish line. Not just because I was done running, but because of realization of the accomplishment I had achieved. I ran 26.2 miles and I did it better than Katie Homes!

Thank you to my family who supported me the whole way. They cheered me on at like tons of different mile points. I would run up and give them hugs or high-fives. One time I licked my hand in front of them and then offered high-fives. They made squirmy faces at me, but they still high-fived my hand. :). Most importantly, thank you to my husband, Paul, who supported me all through my training and cheered me on throughout the race.

If anyone is interested, I used this training from Runner's World. I found it to be perfect for what I wanted to do, which was run an entire marathon. Finally, I encourage everyone to run. I think it's the best exercise. I think I lost like 5 pounds while training, which was expected, but wasn't really necessary because anyone who knows me can tell you I'm already fairly thin. What I didn't expect was where I lost the weight. All of a sudden I have these big veins sticking out of my hands and feet. I mean, who knew fat accumulated there?

See, weight loss means gross veiny feet!

Over the weekend, track star Marion Jones admitted to steroid use. I never believed her claims that she competed clean. She always stated that the truth was her friend and would exonerate her. Well, it's been eight years since she won gold at the Sydney Olympics and the only significant news headlines she's grabbed since then are her denials of ever using steroids. She's old news and her confession now doesn't matter as much anymore except to finalize the end of her career. She stole other athletes' glory and happy memories. She deserves to have her medals stripped.

I feel strongly about the issue of performance enhancing drugs because I am an athlete and I believe in the spirit of sport. I value the idea of people getting together to compete in tests of skill and endurance in a beautiful display of human achievement. Performance enhancing drugs taint that display. I am not an elite professional athlete, but I care about sports. I am a runner and in the middle of training for my second marathon. I run and compete for personal accomplishment, fitness, and camaraderie. I like knowing that I can finish a 26-mile race. Steroids would steal that dream from me. I don't understand why elite athletes use steroids. I've heard the arguments that all the top athletes use them, so drugs are necessary in order to be competitive. And I've heard how elite athletes want to win and see their name in the record books at whatever cost. These reasons are shallow and lame excuses. Is fame more important than personal satisfaction? How can they stand on the victory podium knowing their win is a lie? Athletes should win competitions to achieve their personal best and contribute to the record of human achievement, not because they want their face on a box of Wheaties.

It distresses me to see how prevalent drug use is among athletes and it doesn't matter the sport; it's in running, cycling, baseball, everything. These people are ruining sports! It's no longer about physical achievement. It's about money and greed. What kind of example is this setting for children? Steroid use has already gone down into the college and high school level. Whatever happened to having a dream and working hard to accomplish a goal? If the top elite athletes really cared about their sport, they would not use performance enhancing drugs. To hell with what other people say or do, especially corporations. Are you gonna let corporations own you? After you've sold their shoes or hamburgers for them do you think they care that you've screwed up your health with illegal substances or you're found to be a fraud and eviscerated in the court of public opinion? Hell no! If you're doing your sport for money or fame, do us all a favor and get out. You're hurting yourself and the sport with your filth.