So I follow a Facebook page that's written by the authors of a book called Run Like A Mother. It's filled with real-life experiences of a bunch of women and most days it's quite inspiring. One day last week there was a post from someone wondering what she should yell out to her friend as she cheered her on at her first marathon. People responded with some great ideas of things to say like, "Your Feet Hurt Because You're Kicking So Much Butt!" and some reminders about what is strictly forbidden like, "You're almost there!" when you're not even close to the finish. Anyway, one of them struck me as something that I need to remember right now.
"There will be days you don't think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have."
That first line... that's me. At this point in my training, there is no way that I am able to envision myself actually finishing a 26.2 mile run. It just doesn't seem possible. 26.2 miles is a really long distance. (In case you didn't already know that, now you do.) I've run 13.1 miles before. So I can see that. I can see myself at about 15 miles. But anything past that, nope, not happening.
As the weeks go by, I'm really, really hoping that the mental block on I have on achieving that 26.2 miles will just fade away. Because I know that running is not just a physical thing. There is a whole lot of mental stuff involved in it. I need to mentally get myself through that 26.2 miles. Maybe I need to make one of those nerdy storyboards or something and photoshop me into Grandma's Marathon finishing shots. Hmmm... maybe not a bad idea. I'll think about it. (I'm guessing that "thinking about it" is as far as that one will go.)
But hey, the good news is, I never had any doubts that I could get through my 3 mile run this morning. I guess I have to start somewhere, right?
Maybe you need to come up with some small rewards along your training plan. Kinda like my pie reward, only you obviously can't use that beyond February. :) Just a thought.
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