On this Saturday just passed I ran my first ever marathon!
I’ve been training for it over the past couple of months since I was mad enough to enter the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon after getting serious FOMO when my running buddies entered…
Weekends have been dominated by long run after long run and whilst most of you were chilling out and having the festive season of your life I was running, running and running. I am loving it!
That said, running a full marathon is no joke! It is an experience that will push your body and mind to places you never thought possible. You will think you are prepared for it but the reality of running for 42.2 km is like nothing I have ever had to conquer before!
Here is what running a marathon has taught me:
- You have to have discipline to set a goal like this and achieve it. You cannot expect to finish a marathon if you have not put in the work before hand.
- You WILL reach a few points along the way where you WILL want to give up. This applies to life and running a marathon. DON’T GIVE UP! You have to keep your mind strong, focused and set on the end goal.
- It hurts. I totally underestimated how sore my body would feel afterwards. Mostly in places I didn’t expect to be sore like my lower back and in the bands behind my knees.
- I got a really bad blister at around the 23km mark, and it was painful, but I just kept repeating the mantra – no pain in Jesus name! Use mantra’s and your faith to keep you putting one foot in front of another. I also kept saying to myself – you can do ALL things with Christ who strengthens you. It really worked.
- I am stronger than I give myself credit for. A few months ago I would never imagine being strong enough mentally to get myself to the end of a race, sore and literally bleeding but I did it!
I am so proud of myself that I finished that race – even if it did take me 30 minutes to walk the last 3km. I didn’t achieve my goal of qualifying for Two Oceans this year BUT I did complete a race that strengthened me mentally and physically. I now know that I am capable of great things in my running.
I want to be an example to my children, that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. That will hard work, fun and discipline the world is there for you to take and enjoy. I want them to always know that being healthy is a choice and that living an active lifestyle will bring you joy and friendships that challenge and support you.
Here is to being a marathon FINISHER!
Communiqué 