This is my Portland marathon shirt. Sure, it looks like a Run for the Roses Half Marathon finisher's shirt, and it is. By marathon shirt, I mean this is the old, way too big shirt that I will wear marathon morning as I freeze my petootie off waiting for the start. After a mile or two, when my body is finally warming up, I'll peel this puppy off and leave it on the street for the crowd of volunteers who will collect all of the old clothing lining the street for homeless shelters and other charities that can use these types of donations.
For me, selecting a shirt for marathon morning is a considerate process. You need a shirt that is large enough to keep you warm, old enough to not be useful, and not sentimental enough to make you sob as you drop it to the street when you need it no longer. Finding a shirt that fits this criteria is getting harder; most of my shirts these days are made of technical fabric (not so warm), fit me (I finally figured out how to order the correct size) or represent a recent accomplishment that I still want to hold on to.
My options are growing slim. This won't be an easy shirt to part with - I won't lie. It's not that I would wear it - it's way too big, has a hole in the front and is not exactly wicking fabric. But it is my finisher's shirt from my first half marathon - and I can still remember the pain of that day like it was just yesterday. That shirt represents the battle I had to complete the training with a 2 year old at home and 20 extra pounds on my frame. It is every morning I woke up at 5, ran for an hour, showered, and crawled back in to bed to finish sleeping. It represents where I came from.
Sometimes, though, you just have to keep moving forward. Dropping that shirt marathon morning will mean I'm moving farther along on my journey, towards new goals and new horizons. As bittersweet as that moment will be, I am excited to leave the past behind and run on to what the future holds.
Am I the only one who puts thought in to which shirt to leave behind marathon morning? How do you pick your "stay warm" clothing?
Love this post.
ReplyDeleteI usually go to "savers" and buy something for $1-2.
Or I use a garbage bag -- nice huh?! ;)
really neat reflection! I didn't realize you could just peel off clothing like that and leave it. But it's a great passage for you!
ReplyDelete(What about used kleenex, or underwear?)
Your post reminds me that after my first marathon (PDX 2001), I bought a second finisher's shirt because I couldn't decide between the blue or the white. You know what? I gave both away about 3 years ago...needed to clean out my drawers. Maybe I should have worn them as throw-aways....I usually buy an over-sized sweatshirt at the Goodwill.
ReplyDelete