Finishing the tat

So I’ve been tossing around my commemorative roman-numerals-and-dots-for-each-race marathon tattoo idea since I was inspired by one in Runner’s World a month ago. I drew up some design options, I printed them and cut them out and held them up on various parts of my body to decide where I wanted the ink, and I finally told myself I’d wait until I’d actually finished the New York Marathon in November before I pulled the trigger … and then a buddy of mine got a similar (but WAY bigger) tattoo down the side of his torso last weekend. And it looks HOT:

And then all I could think about was fast-tracking my own commemorative roman-numerals-and-dots-for-each-race marathon tattoo. Especially because I’ll be on a cruise in a week so if I was going to get the tattoo before the cruise I had to do it now so it would have time to heal.

So I did it. Last night. And love it!

Why do I love it? It’s hidden in a peek-a-boo-ey spot that’s both out of the way and attention grabbing. It’s small enough that it didn’t take long to gouge into my flesh and it pretty much healed 24 hours after I got it. It’s meaningful in a personal way and badass in a symbolism-and-dead-language way. Plus it’s totally in my armpit! (And when I stand with my arms at my sides and flare my lats, it actually faces forward. How cool is that?)

I mapped out the dots in such a way that the six marathons I’ve run are represented, there’s room for the seventh, and I can’t run an eighth without totally screwing up the symmetry. So now I have an aesthetic reason to stop running stupid marathons after November. Which is way more compelling than an it-makes-my-knees-hurt-and-sucks-my-social-life-dry reason.

And next November when I have New York under my belt (and pounded into my arches and sucked into my lungs) I totally get to go back for another tattoo! Even though it will just be a tiny little dot. But still! I get to finish the tat! Look I made a tat! Where there never was a tat!