This.
This is what I've done. Or rather, this is what I've decided to do. For those who are unfamiliar with this number, this is how many miles there are in a marathon. Yes, a full marathon. Not a half marathon, not a 10k, but a full marathon. Phew. I get tired just talking about it. And yet, here I am, well on my way to the next level of crazy in my quest to find out just what I am capable of. Will I be able to do this? I know I will. Will it kick my butt? Probably. Will I hate it, kick myself for making myself go through it, and swear never to ever ever ever do it again? That is what remains to be seen.
It took me a while to get to the point in my fitness journey that I would even consider the idea of doing a full marathon. I've worked my way up from walking a few miles at a time, to walking more than a few miles at at time, to jogging and running longer distances, and have been surprised to find that I haven't yet reached the limit of my endurance. Sure, I feel the effects of a long run and need a bit of rest and recovery time after completing one, but I find I can quickly bounce back and get back to life. Dare I say it? Dare I? It's almost...too easy. There, I said it. Now, take into consideration what I mean by "long run". This can be anywhere from 10-14 miles for me. I can complete this distance in one morning, come home, and after an hour or so of rest, get on with the rest of my day of chores, family adventures, work and such with very little effect from my run. What this means to me is that I am comfortable with this level of activity I have reached, and that maintaining it is possible. I would never have imagined I would reach this level, let alone anything more. And yet, having reached this point, I look back at myself over the past year and a half, and see that every time I reached a new level of comfort, I wasn't satisfied to stay there, but kept pushing myself to see if I could do better. So here I am at this point once again, and I'm ready to see what the next round will bring.
So how am I going to do this? I need to prepare myself for this challenge both physically and mentally. The best way for me to handle it has been to do it the same way I've done everything else. Slow and steady. Now, I won't say slow and steady wins the race. Because the people who train every day to win these things aren't going to lay down and take a nap in the middle of the race like the hare in the old childhood story. No, they are going to run hard and win. But slow and steady will finish the race, and that's what I am going to do. Currently I am in my third week of "official" marathon training. I downloaded some information, made calendars, and am gradually building up my distance so that I'll be ready to face that 26.2 miles on the day of the race. Last Saturday morning I did my longest distance yet, 16 miles. Wow. But that's still 10 miles short of the marathon, so I've got my work cut out for me. This Saturday I'll go for 18, then over the next few weeks, work my way up to 20. And so on. It's not a matter of thinking about running the 26.2 miles three months from now, it's a matter of thinking about what I'm doing today, tomorrow, and maybe as far ahead as this weekend. Set my short term goal, prepare myself, get out and go.
The amazing thing to me has been that time and time again, as I've set the goals and reached every one of them, I still haven't hit the wall. I still love it, enjoy it, and look forward to the next round. It hurts, it tires me, it takes time away from other "fun" things I could be doing, but I keep going back for more. It happened when I did my first 10k. It happened when I did my first half marathon. Each time I set a goal, I reached it, and then went on to master it and make it a regular part of my routine. So that is why I am now setting my sights on a full marathon. The goal is two-fold. One, to finish the thing. Just cross the finish line. To say, "at least I did it once!" Second, to see how it makes me feel. Will I love it? Will I hate it? At this point in my training, I honestly don't know.
As I continue my training and work on getting up in to those previously unthinkable distances, I know there is a very real chance that I might decide that I've gone too far and it's more than I prefer to do on a regular basis. I've always given myself an "escape clause", that is, I keep telling myself that as soon as I start hating what I'm doing, that I will immediately scale it back to a level where I am comfortable again, in order to maintain the progress I've made and still enjoy it. The escape clause is in full effect here. I will not beat myself up if I don't love training for and running a marathon. I will be satisfied with what I've already achieved and know that I am doing just fine at my current level of activity. And I will know that I had to courage to push myself just a little further when I thought I'd reached the end. But who knows? I might find that I love it, be able to maintain that next level of endurance on a regular basis, and join the ranks of occasional marathon runners. After all I've gone through to get where I am, that is the ultimate dream for me. To know what I used to be and to be able to say I didn't just overcome the obstacles of obesity, unhealthy living and bad habits, I SMASHED them. Obliterated, destroyed, crushed and trampled them, swept them up and threw them far away where they can never bother me again. Ever.
My marathon is going to be on February 3 of next year. As I write this, I have less than 14 weeks until that big day, and I'm ready to go. I'm registered, I'm sticking to my training, and I'm nervous, excited, and optimistic. I'll be posting from time to time on my progress, so this won't be the last you hear of it. Hopefully I'll have more good than bad to report, but whatever the outcome, I'm ready to see this through. And that alone is the best reward I have received for all that I've worked for.
Thanks again for reading, until next time...
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