an EXPOse (n.)

Today's a complete rest day for me. I know that some people recommend 20-30 minutes of light jogging just to work off the nervous energy, but I think the rest will do me more good--and frankly, I think the nervous energy will be there regardless.

Yesterday, I went to the Chicago marathon's Expo, my first time attending such an event. I guess it was the best and worst of capitalism on display. I should say first off that I enjoyed it. The organizers/volunteers do an incredible job. The packet pickup, the goodie bag--it was all good and went smoothly. The atmosphere was inviting and it felt great to be around so many runners. I think it helped me to get in the mood for the race even more.

But it definitely highlights the fact that running, like almost anything else, is big business and a lot about money. So the Expo felt very much like a shopping mall geared to runners. I had the feeling that signing up for the marathon meant that I became a certain type of customer, the marketing target of certain types of businesses. Not that it's inherently wrong or anything. It certainly didn't offend me to the point of making me turn my back on all the free stuff (the best of capitalism :) ), but I did have an uneasy feeling, as if the all-pervasive fingerprints of money had somehow tainted running, perhaps the purest of sports, in the form of marketing/sales run amuck (the worst of capitalism). I guess living in 21st-century America means learning to live wisely with this tension.

It's less than 24 hours to the start of my sub-3 attempt. I hope to race wisely and not go out too fast, but I also don't want to leave anything out on the course. I hope that for one day, I'll deal well with one of the innumerable tensions in which our lives are lived.