Training for the Daegu Marathon

I’m setting no limits. I’m going to push myself until my knees give out.

That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking ever since my first run three days ago. Ten kilometers of running in a day, out of the blue, is taking a major toll on my body, which is exactly what I’m experiencing now. My knees lock every time I stand up from sitting down. It pains me to crouch down in order to put a plug into an outlet...but it’s all worth it, just to run into the middle of nowhere, and come sprinting back feeling alive.

Of course I wouldn’t have started running if it weren’t for the Daegu International Marathon. It’s quite a goal to have begun training for it, considering that I was walking from the living room into the kitchen everyday for three five months, and now I’ve progressed to run ten kilometers outdoors.

Ken was able to map out a 9.8-kilometer run through several of Andeok’s villages. Jogging along one stretch of open road, I could see the ivory and lavender cherry blossoms coming into bloom, smell the earthy tones from freshly cut logs, watch the farmers fertilizing their land, avoid the tiny countryside dogs nipping at my feet, and be weary of the larger dogs eyeing me, merely tied to a post by a simple rope.

Aside from the farmers burning their crops and garbage on my first run, it was incomparable to the splendid sun, melting into the horizon, and the refreshing wind, swooping down from the mountainside.

I can’t wait to go out for another run. I just have to wait for my body to heal…

…another week should do it.

- Jess