Running Through Highs and Lows

What Marathon Training Taught Me (And Continues to Teach Me)

🏃‍♀️ In the past 13 weeks, I’ve been training for my first marathon (42.2km). Although I’m active and love everything about health and fitness, I used to avoid running. I had never seen myself as a runner.

Marathon training has been both super awesome, and also many times, uber gruelling. It was much harder at a mental level than physical, against all my expectations. 🧠

At its peak last weekend, my training plan had me run a 3️⃣ 2️⃣ km, which is still 10km shy of the actual marathon distance.

While at it, many thoughts came to mind.

🤔 Will I ever be able to finish this training, let alone the marathon itself?
😱 If I need a break running a 32km, how the heck will I finish the marathon?
😩 My knee is hurting. Crap. I will never be able to make it.
🤬 F*ck this. Why did I sign up to suffer?

Also other thoughts came up:

🎉 Wow, look how far I’ve come!
🦵 My legs are getting stronger, and the pain went away!
🙏 Thank you for carrying me through this, you are amazing! (Talking to my body)
🏅 I am so proud of you for being so brave to even sign up for something you thought you’d never do! (Talking to self)
🌞 Look at this weather, what a beautiful life!
💪 I can do this! I can do this! I can, oh yes I can!

These thoughts, all of them and more, circled through my mind a thousand times.

The good, the bad, and the ugly constantly came and went. Even the pain in my knee that I thought would make the run impossible, came but also went away, multiple times.

I cried and laughed inside hundred times over during the 3+ hours of training. 😭😂

Then it dawned on me:

> It was never about the marathon day itself. (1 day) 🏅
> It was always about the journey. The WHOLE experience. (16 weeks) 🗓

> It was about the improvements, physical and mental adaptations, accumulated knowledge on endurance sports, learning something new, and connections I’ve been making along the way. 🤝

> It was about the ups-and-downs 📈📉. Just like in life. Everything passes: The good passes. The pain passes. And surely they will come right back at you, just to pass you by again. 🔄

No matter how slow you think your progress is,
You are definitely NOT the same person as when you started.
You have definitely TRANSFORMED and EVOLVED as a result of the act of going towards your goal.

Going towards a goal? Ask yourself:

⁉️ Are you feeling FRUSTRATED at your (slow) progress? 👣 Look at how FAR you’ve come so far from where you used to be.

⁉️ Are you in PAIN or agony, or stuck in the negative loop? ⏳ Know that it will PASS, too.

⁉️ Are you SPRINTING towards your goal? 🪴 Great! But also, can you STOP and appreciate your process (and life) as it is at this moment?

I still have 3 weeks to go till the marathon, but I, and WE ALL, deserve to celebrate today. So CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 on all the growth, learning, steps you’ve taken, till now.

#MarathonTraining #GoalSetting #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #Endurance #SelfImprovement #MentalToughness #Resilience #Coach