To Hell And Back.

Now that is a phrase if I may say so myself.  I became acquainted with it last year while I was perusing the runners expo in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in, you guessed it, Buffalo, NY.  I was there picking up my number for my 3rd half marathon when I stumbled upon it.  I nice grey t-shirt with black piping around the collar and sleeves.  Nice I thought.  But, it wasn't until I pulled it off of the rack, that I knew I had to get it.  The front had a small grunge sneaker print with angel wings and the brand name "Asics" under it on the left side (my left, your right).  I had never tried a pair of Asics on but that didn't matter.  I just loved the winged sneaker.  How symbolic.  How cool that was.  Register please, you can put the receipt in the bag.  I had found my go-to running t-shirt for the summer.  But wait, let's flip it around to see if there was anything on the back.  Icing on the cake you might say.  Oh boy was there ever icing, and them some.  There were jimmies, candles and assorted candy pieces that spelled out "Happy Birthday".  You know, the kind that your parents used to put on your cake when you were 8?  OK, it wasn't that exciting but it was the phrase that put it all into perspective "To Hell And Back" at the top with the sneaker and wings below it.  It was rather large and centered on the back.  Up to that time, my farthest races had been half marathons and that is what I related that phrase to.  Little did I know...

My first marathon was in Hampton Beach in October of 2013.  It struck me during that race what the phrase on my favorite running related t-shirt meant.  "To Hell And Back".  Yep, that summed it up nicely.  The physical challenges alongside the mental challenges.  You put yourself through hell.  Teetering on the cusp of the fiery pit.  But you summon all that you have from within and make it to the finish line and all is well with the world again.  The sense of accomplishment washes away any remnants of sulfur left behind by Lucifer's grip.  Figuratively speaking of course. 

As many people probably don't know, I "reward" myself after completing marathons by getting a tattoo as a symbol to myself as to what I can do and as a reminder to never give up.  Well, I owed myself a tattoo for completing the Providence Marathon earlier this year.  I decided to wait until after my races were over in the fall so that I didn't have to worry about the sun on it, not going swimming and so that I could cover up the plastic wrap that you have to put on it (you feel like a left over sandwhich that gets wraped up and put in the refridgerator for the next day's lunch.  How embarrassing!  I fulfilled my reward last week by getting my 2nd running tattoo.  I ended up getting my favorite running t-shirt design on my shoulder, including the "To Hell And Back" script to remind me of just how accurate those 4 words really are.  The funny thing is though.  I keep going back for more.  It is such an addictive thing that is very difficult to describe.  Maybe it is not meant to be understood.  Just something that is done.  All I know is that I will proudly where my Asics t-shirt when I'm not running and a slinglet when I am (to show off my new ink).  Either way, people will certainly know that I have been "To Hell And Back". 

Update on training: I went into Boston on Saturday for a long run so that I could tack on a few extra miles for the week.  I ended up doing 13.15 miles that day for a grand total of 27.6 miles for the week.  It was the first really cold run of the fall/winter training season.  Boy, I didn't really miss that at all from last winter.  Wow.  It did feel good to get those miles in and was able to grab a few pictures along the way (this one is from one of my runs a few weeks ago).

Until next time, keep on runnin'!