I had been running for 8 months when I took a trip to South Africa to visit one of my dearest childhood friends. My running journey had not been perfect, but it had sparked something inside me that made me feel contented and connected. I had a Half Marathon on the books for the month after I returned from my vacation. I had actually never even run a race before as I lived in Australia at the time and there weren’t an abundance of 5k and 10k races. I was excited about my upcoming Half and shared my good news with some other friends also staying with my girlfriend and her famlly. One of the girls piped up. “That’s great, way to go! Once you finish the Half you should tackle a Marathon”.
Deep breath, exhale. Sweet friend. Do you know what you’re saying? You are clearly not aware that a Marathon is 26.2 miles. That distance is actually 3 miles farther than running from Kennesaw Mountain to Downtown Atlanta, or from New York City to Coney Island (and back again), or from Downtown LA to San Fernando. You get the picture. It turns out she was well aware. Like, she’d already run 2 Marathons before aware. I couldn’t believe it. You could have literally knocked me over with a feather. How is that even possible? She was my age. She had a job and a social life and didn’t look like she had any sort of magic super power. Nope, she was just a boss woman who set her mind to do something, got a Coach to help her, and nailed a bucket list item. Mind. Blown.
I have thought about that moment so many times over the past 10 years. Would I have naturally gravitated to the Marathon had my friend not mentioned her achievements? Outside of having my son, and marrying my truly amazing husband (I know everyone says that, but he really is the bomb), the Marathon has brought me the most special and intense moments of my existence. What would my life be like without that conversation?
Was my Marathon preparation the combination of a perfectly executed training plan, solid in-race nutrition, strength training, and recovery modalities? Um. No. No it was not. But it was JAM PACKED with hits and misses and culminated in me crossing the finish line in just a few minutes more than my goal of 4 hours. And man has that moment brought me many laughs and much pride over the years. It taught me that I can do ANYTHING that I set my mind to. And now when I’m driving on the freeway and see a sign that says, 24 miles to Whoop Whoop I think, “yep, I can run that”.
For The Run Of It would be honored to help you attain your running goals. Contact me to find out how we can make it your best (or first!) run ever!
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