What a crazy journey, and way more enjoyable than I ever thought it would be. I decided at the beginning of 2018 that I wanted to run a marathon because it seemed like a crazy challenge to complete in and of itself, but also post having a baby in September of 2017. If you know me you know I’m always up for a crazy challenge…the crazier the better! 😉
Knowing I was turning 26 this year made the idea that much more appealing, who doesn’t want to run 26 miles for their 26th birthday?!
Then once my sister said she would do it with me (I never though she would even consider it when I pitched the idea to her) I knew I had to do it!
But really what was I thinking….
Here is what my crazy journey consisted of:
My Training Plan
I actually found my training plan in a book I’ve had and read occasionally since high school, Runner’s World Complete Book of Running. It was just their basic beginners training plan they recommended in the book. I’ve led 5k, 10k, and half marathon running groups but since I didn’t have much knowledge on the daunting marathon distance I decided to follow this plan.
This plan took me through 18 weeks of pure torture…just kidding, but at times it did feel like it! If you ever train for a marathon, or any race even, I highly suggest signing up with someone. It makes the training process that much more enjoyable.
Like I mentioned above, I signed up with my sister who is in the navy and currently living in DC. Even though we couldn’t do our training runs together just having someone to talk to about how training was going, and who was experiencing the same pain as I was, was super helpful! We would exchange texts almost weekly asking how our long run went for the week. Some weeks we would respond with thoughts that we didn’t think we would ever make it the full 26 miles, while other weeks we had some pretty amazing runs and would send all the fist bumps, praise hands, and celebration emojis.
How My Training Plan Changed
Midway through I started studying everything I could about marathon programs and how to create them, I was slowly becoming obsessed. I started tweaking my training plan a bit to incorporate what I was learning. While basic beginners plans are great, if you want to reach your true potential you need a more specific plan tailored to you.
We ran 4 days each week; 2 easy runs, 1 tempo/threshold run, and 1 long run. Once I developed my injury (read below) I started doing 3 easy runs, and 1 long run. Our longest run was 20 miles, 3 weeks before we ran the full 26. With having only ran 20 miles, and then going into taper weeks, it took all the trust in the world to believe that we could do it. I don’t know how many times we said we didn’t think we would be able to do it during those weeks of tapering. If you’ve ever experienced tapering you know what I mean when I say, you HAVE to trust the process!
My Injury
I developed an achilles injury about halfway through my training plan. At about the same time I started revamping my training plan with too much speed work too soon, (I got too excited with the thought of what I could do) along with not doing the strength training specific for runners I should have been doing. I actually developed this same injury 2 years ago during my half marathon training. As hard as it is working through an injury, especially as a running coach (I should know enough to not injure myself), it has taught me what to focus on for my next training cycle and what not to do, no matter how excited I get…
My Diet
I am a huge clean eating advocate and have been for around 4 years now, ever since I came across 100 days of real food blog. So naturally I chose to fuel my marathon training runs and the actual race with clean food, raisins and honey!
What did my training diet look like? Like a lot of food! Breakfast would typically consist of 2 meals, and let me just say I am missing this! I love breakfast, so part of me just wants to start training for another marathon right away so I can eat 2 breakfasts’ again 😉
Lunch and dinner I usually had larger portions than my husband, and I was constantly snacking. All that running makes you hungry! If you want an idea of what I ate daily take a look at my Instagram page and click on my ‘Running Fuel’ story.
Running in the Dark
I had to run in the dark for some of my runs. Fall running will do that to you. Read more about my horrific experience and why I am now shopping for a treadmill, or running buddy, here.
Breastfeeding
I breastfed for almost the entire 18 weeks of training which was insanely hard! Read more about that experience here.
Burning out
About halfway through I remember almost getting burned out. Marathon training is HARD and takes ALOT of time. I wasn’t prepared for that part of it. I remember getting on Instagram and finding other runners. Following their pages gave me the inspiration and motivation I needed to keep going.
Setting my goal to Boston Qualify
Around the same time I followed other Instagram handles I started learning about the Boston Marathon. Since I had ran a 1:39 half marathon 2 years prior I decided why not, why not shoot for a crazy goal postpartum, even after an injury that left me doing mostly easy runs for the entire training plan, why not right?
So I set my goal time of 3:30 which is what I needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon in my age group. Getting closer to race day I was excited and scared that I was shooting for such a crazy time. A huge part of me was doubting that I would even be able to do it because I didn’t get to train how I wanted to. But I had to try because I had been telling people my goal time and even posted it on my Instagram. If you ever want some accountability start telling people your goals, it helps kick you into gear and gives you the drive to try that much harder!
So did I hit my goal? I am beyond happy, ecstatic, and overjoyed to report I crushed my goal and ran a 3:27!
Igniting my Passion
I have always had a passion for running and training for this marathon just brought this passion out even more. I would LOVE to use this passion to help others reach running potential they never thought was possible. Keep in mind I didn’t think when I started training I would even survive 26 miles, let alone set a goal time, let alone qualify for the Boston Marathon!
What’s next?
So my crazy journey led me to catching the running bug. Next my goals are to set some other insane + scary goals for each distance, the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon. I’m chasing after being the fastest I can be and hopefully helping others do the same!
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