Life is a Marathon…
Reality has sunk in that my first ever marathon is less than one month away! Nov. 14th. is the date, which means I have officially entered the “Monster Month”. I fear the worst, hope for the best, and can certainly expect adrenaline to pump on that chilly Sunday morning in a few weeks.
My family has mentioned running a marathon can actually harm your body more than help. Some friends are curious how much time I have devoted to training. I have never been one to justify anything to other people but I think justifying this training to myself has been a major factor in reaching my goals. The doubt of whether I could really do this has popped into my head more recently than ever before.
Reminding myself that I accomplished a half-marathon under my goal time has helped until this weekend. This weekend I embarked on a 15 mile run for training. The longest I have ever run was approximately 17 miles this year in May on Hilton Head Island. The waves, sun, and beach-goers kept me entertained visually while I did rock-out to the tunes shooting through my headphones. I cannot hide the fact that the only reason I ended up running that far is because I went up the wrong beach access near the end and got lost! That added an extra 3 miles or so. This weekend was very different; I didn’t know what to expect on my lingering 15 miles. I keep the mindset of “If I can do 12 miles, I could run 13…. If I could run 13 miles, I can run 14…”. At 14 miles, the mental game began, “I could run 15, but I could stop now and rest… I could just walk a little bit.”
It would be ridiculous to quit after making it to 14 miles. My goal was to run 15 miles this Sunday. I ran 16.2.
Training has helped me set goals, overcome obstacles, become more flexible when adjusting time and makes everything else in life that much easier to handle. I am definitely more willing to attempt greater challenges now than ever. I don’t know exactly what will happen race day but I sure have enjoyed my journey thus far.
In other news, I was offered and accepted a permanent position with the SNAP-Ed as a School Nutrition Associate ! It is a full-time, salaried position with (state) health benefits! I am eager to start November 1st! It will be quite a change to go from three part-time jobs and previously school on top to one, solid position where I can really get involved! Coincidentally, the day I interviewed was the day I was supposed to have flown to New York to visit a friend. My flight was unexpectedly canceled and fortunately, I was able to attend the interview in person. Everything happens for a reason.
