June 25, 2012

Motivating Monday: The marathon

Well people.

This is happening.

I registered.

 

Talk about some motivation for my Monday morning.

My running buddy signed up weeks ago for this race, and I’ve been putting it off 1. for monetary reasons, and 2. because honestly, I’m plain scared.
26.2 miles is a LOOONG way to run. And I’m not always sure if my body can do that.

So, I found a 16 week plan  a couple of weeks ago that I think I can handle, and I started “pre-training” two weeks ago to get my body used to running more than 2 days a week.
I wanted to see if my leg could take it, (honestly, I wanted to see if I could take it) and so far, I’m falling in love with running again.

I had some IT band issues last week, but I’m resting, and icing, and foam rolling to help it.
And I’m not going to let it get me down.

And even if my running buddy is moving in a couple of weeks, I’m not letting that get me down either.
I can do this training.

Because this morning is HUGE for me.
I just signed up for my first marathon EVER.

Yes, I’m still a bag of mixed emotions.
I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m scared.

But I’m ready.

And I think after the journey my life has taken over the last couple of years, and now that I’m here, now, at 25, seeking peace and joy, I’m ready.

And my injury, whatever the heck it is, despite flair ups and crazy days, it’s not going to stop me.
(Now, I’m not going to be stupid and run in tremendous pain…I’m monitoring it and acting smart.)

Because even if I want to try and qualify for Boston with my running buddy, I know full well that I might not make that goal time.
Doesn’t mean I won’t try though.

Because ultimately, this race is to test my heart.
I love running, I always have.
It’s time to clear my head, to breathe, to think, to pray, to wonder, to seek, to find….and my heart, it’s ready.

And this year…it’s the right time. It’s the time to train for a marathon.

Passing the Baton: Have you done a full 26.2, yet? If so, do you remember your very first race? What advice to you have? Any good motivation tips for the next 4 months? What is something huge you want to do this year that you’ve been scared to step out and do?
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Seek Peace. Choose Joy, Find Strong

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I did my first marathon November 20, 2011. I was trained for it (I had spent 6 MONTHS training) and I felt ready. I even took the optional detour making it 26.5 miles. I don't know if your marathon will offer it; but the one I did had GU at every 2 miles starting at 8 and I grabbed them and stuck them in a pocket on my running skirt, even if I didn't feel like I needed them. I also took Gator-Ade at every stop instead of water. I felt like I was going to need it just to make the distance. Most of all, I had fun. We had special bibs stating it was our first marathon so we were all easy to spot. I walked when I needed, ran when I could and NEVER stopped (OK, I stopped once when traffic control stopped doing their job). I also have IT band issues from my first half (I over-trained for that one) but it stopped bothering me about 10 miles in. My time wasn't great but I can still proudly say I am a marathoner! Good Luck to you!

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