Running A Marathon

My Long Term Goal- Running A Marathon

Running a marathon has been a goal that I have been writing down since February 25, 2020. I didn’t write about what led up to me making such an audacious goal, but I did write down affirmations that day. I wrote, “I believe in myself, I chose to be happy. I am strong, I love my body for everything it has done for me. I love who I am becoming. I love myself.”

Before deciding to run a full marathon, I had run 2 half marathons and a handful of 5K’s. I had decided somewhere along my growth journey to do a very hard thing, so that in the future, I always knew that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

So that’s what I did.

“The marathon is not really about the marathon, it’s about the shared struggle. And it’s not only the marathon, but the training.”

Bill Buffum

Training For A Marathon

I started training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon in November 2021. I trained with a local running store, Black Dog Running Company , so I had access to a coach and a team. We trained for 16 weeks, running 5 days a week, 1 day of cross training, and 1 rest day.

We had 3 “short runs” a week, followed by long run weekend is what I called it. Towards the end of our training, we would be running at least 5 hours over the course of 2 days. Training is more than just the actual run time. You also have to consider the time it takes to prepare for the run, and then the time it takes you to recover from the run. Many times, it would take me out the entire day.

I absolutely loved training with the team, and getting to know new fellow runners and the coaches better. If you are new to running, I would definitely recommend getting a running coach to help you along your journey, and you will make some new friends along the way.

The Hard Parts of Training and Running a Marathon

Training for a marathon is delightfully brutal. I am a mom that works from home, so I would have to do my runs early in the morning before my husband left for work. Training during the Winter meant I was running at 5:30 am, in the dark. I took many precautions for running in the dark, such as running lights, wearing reflective gear, not wearing headphones to be aware of my surroundings, running in safe locations, and sharing my location on my phone.

For me, running the marathon wasn’t the hardest part. Physically, during the race, yes, it was the hardest thing I have done. Mentally, it was all the miles that came before the actual marathon that was the harder challenge. There is no one but yourself that will make you get up and go for the runs. Day, after day, after day.

If its raining, if your on vacation on a snow covered mountain, If its dark outside, if it’s hot and humid. If you are tired. If your kid kept you up all night. You have to go run anyways. No one is ever constantly motivated to train for a race. One is simply dedicated to the art.

I constantly think of my long term goal to keep myself on track in the present. If I want to run the marathon in x months, then I have to go on this run today, even if it is raining, and I have an hour run planned, and step into a deep puddle 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the run. Do it anyway.

Running the Myrtle Beach Marathon

I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon on March 5, 2022. I had no idea what to really expect for it, other than I was confident that all my training would lead me to the finish line. And ultimately, it did. The first half of the marathon was great. I had great energy, I fueled great, my legs felt great. Around Mile 17, is when the struggle started. I saw my family at Mile 19, and that was such a wonderful sight, but I knew I had so much further to go, so that excitement only got me through for a little while.

I did very well with my fueling the entire race. The end of the race got very hard, and it was a very odd feeling knowing I had energy in my body, but my legs did not want to go anymore. I had to make my legs keep going the last 6 miles of the race, and that became my wall to climb.

My goal for running my first marathon was to finish. I wanted to finish at 4:30, but I ended up finishing at 4:45. I am very happy with this time, because once you are in the struggle of finishing a marathon, you are so proud of yourself for making it through. I no longer cared about my time once I got to mile 23, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. I had to run/walk a lot during the last 4 miles of the race. Finishing became my only goal.

How Running a Marathon Changed My Mindset

I ran the marathon to prove to myself that I can do the hardest thing I could think of to do. I have a lot of other goals that I want to work on, that seem equally audacious, but in another manner. I want to write a cookbook, but I have never written a book before. But if you tell yourself that you can do hard things, and you have done a very hard thing, then you know that you have to keep going on your next audacious goal.

I also ran this marathon for my daughter. I deeply want her to believe that she can do anything she sets her mind to. I want her to know this in her bones, and from a young age. I don’t want her to have to wait until she is in her mid-30’s like me, to start living out some of her dreams. So, if I want her to believe that about herself, then I have to go first, and show her that I believe it about myself.

You really can work on your goals at any stage of your life. You are more than “just a mom”, or “just a (insert your current stage of life.) It does take a lot of hard work and time sacrifice. But if you believe in your dreams enough, you will start living them out, and they become who you are.

I am now a mom, a wife, an employee, and a marathoner.

I believe in you,

Alicia

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