The Marathon Runner’s Nightmare

With all the training I’ve been doing for the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon, it was inevitable I would have this kind of dream.

I was heading out to the marathon, but instead of Dodger Stadium, it looked more like it was taking place in my hometown in Northern California. What’s worse, it became that dream where I found I was wearing next to nothing. All I had on was some underwear and a bathing suit, and the latter seemed to make more sense. No one bothered me about not having my bib number, though, for some odd reason.

Then I realized I didn’t even have water or food with me like I always do during training. As I looked furiously for anything available, I suddenly realized that the marathon already started an hour ago. This meant all my fellow Team To End AIDS runners were way ahead of me. Great! Wonderful! Now I’ll have to run by myself!

But getting started was a marathon in itself as hours kept going by before I could even get started! Once I found a bottle of water, I dumped its contents out because it was orange flavored. This is a dream, so don’t ask me to make sense of it. I also asked a middle aged couple who were making out if they could watch my stuff. That I didn’t know either of them didn’t seem to matter until after I left.

After getting there however, I had problems setting up the interval timer on my watch. Somehow I had the more expensive and technologically advanced watch than what I currently own, and figuring out how to use it was like studying calculus back in junior college (man that drove me insane!). Furthermore, getting past the starting line was frustratingly difficult. By the time I was ready to start, nine hours had passed since the marathon began.

At some point I got a call from my mother who told me that the marathon I was at wasn’t even the Los Angeles Marathon! I don’t remember which one it was, but I was relieved that I didn’t mess up that badly. Then I bumped into a school friend of mine who I haven’t seen in years, and the dream suddenly ended.

So what’s this dream all about? I guess it means there’s no excuse for being properly prepared!

Other articles by Ben Kenber:

I Sit On a Sink, Therefore I Am

My Triumphant Moment as a High School Wrestler

Day 13 of 2012 LA Marathon Training


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