Marathon Wrap Up Pt. 3

(Thanks for bearing with me this week as I commandeered the blog for my own purposes of documenting my experience with the half marathon this past weekend.  Truly sorry to those of you who have been bored to tears by it!  This is the LAST post about it!  Pinky swear!)

Since the race, people keep asking me how I did it.  Looking back on it, it wasn't that hard, but I've learned over the years how to manipulate myself into doing things.  The following are a few things I feel like I did right, which ultimately led to me being able to finish the race, with a faster time than I ever would have imagined! (2:16)

1-      Do it with friends- Accountability was everything for me.  The only thing that would get me out of the bed in at the butt crack of dawn, was knowing that someone was meeting me at the park for our runs.  If someone else was investing themselves in the effort, I certainly didn’t want to find myself being the weakest link.

2-      Just sign up for a race- Whether it’s a local 5k or the Miami ING, paying the registration fee invests you in the journey.  You have a commitment on the plate.  Not only to your partner(s) in the process, but to justify the expense.

3-      Make it fun- I sent out an email to every girl I thought *might* be interested in joining me.  We had a little get together on a weeknight where we poured a few glasses of wine, individually registered for the race, planned training schedules, and shared music from our running mixes.  Additionally, we chose to make the entire event fun, by doing it in a fun city, making dinner reservations at a great restaurant and booking a nice hotel.  Making it a little get away weekend, made it so much more fun!  A few weeks before the race, we all got together again at Happy Hour at a local restaurant and solidified our travel plans, reservations, and race day prep. 

4-      Mix up your normal routes- variety is the spice of life!  Keep it interesting.  Run with new people, talk while you do it, learn about what’s going on in their world.  Socialize outside of the runs.  The entire experience can deepen relationships, because you’re sharing a journey!

5-      If you’re the least bit spiritually inclined, I would encourage you to use the time and experience to deepen your faith.  There are going to be runs that SUCK.  There are going to be days when you desperately don’t want to put on your shoes, when you doubt your ability to do it and your sanity.  But incorporating prayer and relying on the strength of the One able to do all things, will intensify your faith.  The morning of the ½ marathon, I had no intention of running the entire distance.  My half assed plan was to run 3 miles, take a walk break, run 3 miles, rinse and repeat until it was over.  But as the race began, I felt a strength like I’d never experienced before and it came from the knowledge that while I hadn’t trained to complete 13 miles, 13 miles was nothing to the One who strengthens me.  I decided to rely on that strength rather than my own, and finished the race without one single walk break, running through water stations gulping sips as best I could and finishing far faster than I’d ever dreamed.  

It ultimately had very little to do with me. 

                    (me with friends Emmee and Ashley as the race began)