My First Marathon - Check

I can finally check a marathon off my bucket list (woohoo!).   I did not just complete any marathon, but a SUPER hilly challenging course unlike any other called the American Birkebeiner Train Run.  The elevation is equivalent to climbing the Empire State Building 3 times in 26.2 miles - yup there's some crazy-steep hills!!

This race meant so much to me for so many reasons.  I was never athletic in high school or college and up until 5 years ago, I had never run before.  I'm 43, work full-time with 3 busy kids and I certainly do not have the body shape of your typical marathoner.  But, I took the risk, signed up, trained and I did it.  Now, if I can run a marathon I believe that anything is possible and I'll never underestimate myself again.

Here's my tips on how to meet your fitness goal:

1.  Schedule it:   if you have you it written in your schedule you have a better chance of not filling your time with other stuff.  And don't fool yourself, your physical health is extremely important and you need to take care of yourself. 

I prefer to workout first thing in the morning before my day gets filled up with other stuff AND I do not want to give myself a lot of time to think about that 20 mile run.  If you get up, meet your partners, and get to it you are more likely to make it happen.  On one of our 18 milers we met for the car drop off around 4:30 a.m.  Yes, it kinda' sucked but we got it done.

2.  Partner up:  meeting up with friends to exercise makes your time more enjoyable, you are accountable to show up, and it's the best free therapy you could ever ask for.  Also, my running friends were so supportive and also gave me the best tips from nutrition, sports bras to shoes.  Luckily my friend Stacey agreed to take on this crazy challenge with me (even though she's much faster it worked well to train together).

Stacey and me pre-marathon!

3.  Sign up:  by signing up a race you are committed to figure out a training plan.  Having friends to sign up for something similar also helps. 

4.  Switch things up:  living in Wisconsin means I have 4 glorious seasons and I change my workout schedule 4 times a year.  For this marathon, I only ran 3 times a week and the other 3 days I biked, swam or participated in yoga.  For me, running 3 times a week seems to be the magic number.  Last year I ran more and ended up with an injury.   Of course you have to do what works for you.

And here's what I learned from my marathon training:

1.  Perseverance!!!  Seriously, I almost quite training for the marathon after a bad 11 mile run and then a bad 13 mile run.   My friend Colleen paced me on the next 14 mile run and I found success - I felt great!  Had I quit after those 2 bad runs I never would have met my goal of being a Birkie Warrior.

2.  Focus:  While I usually have my eye on some sort of a goal, I have never experienced focus like I experienced for this marathon.  The marathon seemed to be all I could think about. The Sunday after the race I literally felt like I woke up from a dream / nap.  I looked around and realized so many areas I had let slide because my focus had been so laser sharp.  I had paid the mortgage and electricity, fed my kids and made sure they had clean underwear - BUT that's about it!  Everything else I had really let slide (including my blog)..  Let's just say I have a lot of make-up work to do BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!

3.  Pacing works:  For the Birkie Trail Marathon they have some tight cut off times in place, and I had a lot of anxiety about making the cut.  So, the morning before the race I wrote down the times I needed to safely make the cut-off points (i.e. - mile 3 - 8:35 am, mile 5 - 9:07 am, etc.).  Not only did this ease my anxiety, but as I reached each 2 mile spot on track or ahead of schedule I gave myself an internal high five.  Plus it was a great distraction. 

My Pacing Arms - thanks for Amy Rowley for taking the pic!

4.  I have so much to be grateful for:   I'm mostly grateful for all of my Ski and Tea sisters that stuck around to see me finish.  My marathon was slow and I had many of my ski and tea sisters that completed other races that day and they either met me on the trail or cheered me in at the end.  Chad had to work and I had to get a babysitter for my kids so I didn't expect to see anyone at the finish but instead I had running friends who cheered me through the finish line.  Dang, I'm blessed and I'm so grateful to those of you that cheered me on that day or sent me energy from afar.

So, what's your goal?  After my marathon experience, I really believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Have a great weekend!!

Kristin