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My Mantra: Believe

Over the past year or so, the Marathons+Moderation guest posts have ranged from stories of first marathons, getting faster, still finding time to drink and party while training, to stories of overcoming defeat. Maybe it’s because Leticia and I shared this year’s training season together or because I followed her journey this summer but this story reminds me why I love this series. Some people think it’s time to let the series die while others comment each week, loving the new stories. While I don’t know that stories will necessarily come each week it’s fresh perspectives such as Leticia’s that remind me why I love training for 26.2 miles every summer. The feeling of accomplishment at the end is like nothing else and all it requires is belief in yourself and dedication to the hard, sweat filled runs.
Believe:
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Three years ago if you would have told me that today I’d be writing a post talking about what I experienced in marathon training I would have told you, you were absolutely nuts. Almost three years ago to the date I ran my first mile on the treadmill. I think it was about a 13 minute mile but I did it! I remember the feeling of absolute excitement that I could actually do this! I had done it, I had run one mile without stopping. You see in October of 2009 I decided I was tired of being overweight, unhappy, and unmotivated. I got a hold of my life, lost 100lbs, and had a lot of fun in the process! You can read my story here.
After running a half marathon in the Fall of 2011, I went out and watched the NYC Marathon that November. I vividly remember how amazing it was to see thousands of runners on 1st Avenue. I was more encouraged that day than ever before. I knew that a year later I wanted to be in that marathon. I wanted to run those streets. I wanted to feel that level of excitement and run 26.2 miles. I started training for the 2012 NYC Marathon at the end of July, following a summer of painful injuries. I knew that I had come a very long way. Therefore my mantra for my marathon would simply be one word: believe. I took that saying and literally ran with it. I knew that if I didn’t believe I could do this I wouldn’t actually cross the finish line.
In the aftermath of Sandy, you know that the NYC Marathon was canceled. It was a huge disappointment after 16 weeks of training, but even in the chaos of what that news brought I knew that I would still run a marathon. Enter, the Richmond Marathon. Luckily, I had 10 other girls who gladly accepted the challenge to tackle Richmond and not waste the training we had done for the previous four months.
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I am a huge believer in that things don’t happen by coincidence. I know without a doubt that Richmond was supposed to be my first marathon. It was a fantastic race that I got to share with dear friends of mine that I’ve made through the amazing running community in NYC. I crossed the finish line in 4 hours 39 minutes and 15 seconds. I worked for every second of that marathon and I am proud to say that I am forever a finisher.
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If I could give you three things I learned to believe in through this process they are these:
1. Believe in yourself- Believe that you can do this. Believe that you are stronger than you think. Believe that your body is an amazing gift to have and it can be pushed to extreme limits. It’s going to get hard. It’s going to get tiring, but don’t stop believing!
2. Trust your training- I followed my training to a tee. I didn’t make excuses. I didn’t slack off. I put in the work. I believed that a good training cycle would lead me to my goal time and finish without an injury and it did!
3. Have others believe in you- Surround yourself with people who lift you up when the going gets tough (it will). I had a coach, roommates, and friends who believed in me every single day. I had friends who flooded my inbox with support, advice, tips, and love. This aspect is so important!
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Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about my marathon experience! I still baffles me that I accomplished this after running one mile three years ago. I have come a very long way to say the least. Marathon day was one of the best days of my entire life. For a full recap of Richmond see here.
“It’s a marathon. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”
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Training for the London Marathon

I’m so excited about this week’s Marathons+Moderation guest post that I actually wanted to post it sooner than Wednesday! Last week after watching the women’s marathon with Meghann, we both were talking about how much we’d love to run that marathon one day. We weren’t alone either. Twitter was buzzing with London Marathon excitement after the Olympics and I’d be surprised if their entry rate at this point isn’t higher than normal already. Much to my elation, Charlie reached out to me via email to see if I’d be interested in letting her share her London Marathon story through Marathons+Moderation. Heck yes!

Hi Healthy Happier Bear readers, I’m Charlie and I blog at The Runner Beans. I am so excited that Ashley has let me share my first marathon story with you. This April I ran the London Marathon 2012, and was thrilled to achieve my goal of finishing in under 5 hours!

I actually trained for the London marathon in 2011, but had to pull out due to an ITB injury. Thankfully I was lucky enough to be running for a great charity, MIND, who allowed me to defer my entry and sponsorship money to the following year.

When starting marathon training for the second time I decided to do things a little differently, so here are my tips for first time marathoner:

Your plan has to work for you… Having a training plan that worked with my life; both work and social schedules, meant that I stuck to it. If I had been overambitious with the number and distances of my runs, I can imagine that I would have found it overwhelming and may have been tempted to quit. I kept my mileage low during the week, sticking to 3-5 miles during three weekday runs, only upping my mileage, gradually, on my weekly long runs. This worked really well for me, especially for my first marathon where my main goal was to finish. It meant I could easily fit my runs in before work and could squeeze in other workouts. Be realistic and work out a safe, achievable plan to get
you to marathon fitness.

All the gear…Whilst running is a very accessible sport where you don’t need too much equipment to start, the most important thing to get right is your shoes. This year, unlike the last, I went and had my gait analysed at a shoe store in London, running on a treadmill whilst being filmed to check the degree of pronation in my feet when I run. It turned out that I overpronated quite a bit, and was given very supportive shoes to protect my feet and improve my running style. This definitely helped with the pain in my knees and feet after long runs. Other than shoes, you can kit yourself out with as much or as little as you want/can afford.

Cross Train… During training this year, I didn’t JUST run. The previous year I was new to running, and just getting back into the exercise game, and I didn’t really think about incorporating strength or cross training into my routine. I ran 4 days a week and that’s it. This year, I included weekly yoga sessions plus some weight and circuit sessions in and felt my whole body getting stronger. It took some of the pressure of my knees, improved my core strength, and allowed me to retain a little flexibility.

Have a cause… I originally signed up to run the marathon in memory of one of my best friends, raising money for MIND, a mental health charity. Having such a worthy cause ensured that I stuck to my training plan as I didn’t want to let his family down, or my friends and family that had donated to the cause. Every time I wanted to put off a run, I’d think about why I was doing it, and lace up my shoes and get out there.

Practise makes perfect… This year I signed up for three half marathons and a 5k. I found it far easier to complete long runs that were scheduled races, plus the appeal of a medal and goody bag never gets old! I ran two of these half marathons with my friend Emily, who I was also planning on running the London Marathon with. It was great to work out our goal paces and our race day strategies together. These half marathons were brilliant practises for the big one. During one of my half marathons my ipod was dead leaving me music-less for all 13 miles, and during another half,
my garmin decided to switch off halfway through. These minor setbacks during my half marathons, ensured that I didn’t make the same mistakes on the big day. Plus I realised that I really like running half marathons! (I’m doing another in 2 months time!)

You don’t have to do it alone… I ran the whole of the London Marathon with Emily, and don’t think I would have had as much fun during the race, nor would I have been able to finish so strongly without her. Hitting the wall at mile 20 was miserable, but having Emily by my side telling me I was strong and had to keep going, that she wasn’t leaving me, kept me running. Without her, there is a very real possibility that I would have stopped and walked.

Enjoy your race… This is one of the most important pieces of advice I was given. You will only run your first marathon once. You may run other marathons, but nothing will ever feel quite like the first time you cross the finish line. I loved (almost) every moment of the London Marathon. The course itself is so impressive, running past huge London landmarks. One of my favourite moments was running across iconic Tower Bridge, marking about the halfway point. We also ran through areas of London that I had never been to before, including the Cutty Sark. The crowds on the day were amazing; it was great having so much support from the thousands of people lining the streets, something that we wouldn’t have had in a smaller race. I also hugely appreciated the support of friends and family on the sidelines, a huge benefit of running a race that’s local to you.

I crossed the finish line in 4.54.59 hrs, holding Emily’s hand with a huge smile on my face.

“One day you won’t be able to do this, today is NOT that day.”

Question: Have you ever run a marathon in a different country?

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Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Hey Healthy Happier Bear readers! I’m Heidi from Life in Pink. I have a long convoluted history with running. I started running in high school on the track and field team and later the cross country team but was never the fastest runner. Needless to say I didn’t pursue running in college and hardly ran at all except on rare occasion. When I moved to DC after college, eventually I got stuck in an office with no windows and 3 other government relations coordinators at a thankless firm. It was my unhappiness there that inspired me to sign up for my first marathon.

Tough Lesson #1: Train Hard I researched training plans briefly, and just hit the register button when the Marine Corps Marathon opened up. Loving to run sometimes isn’t enough to get you to put one foot in front of the next for 26.2 miles. I didn’t train well for that first marathon. I didn’t train hard. I trained half heartedly. And if there’s one thing you don’t want to do half heartedly friends? It’s train for a marathon. That wall? Instead of mile 20, it comes at mile 15. That bus that picks up stragglers? It’ll be nipping at your heels around mile 18. But I accomplished my goal of simply finishing. Tough Lesson #2:Training Takes Time For my second marathon, I decided to take the time to train properly. Seven am runs to beat the grueling DC summer heat became a well versed habit. I did hill repeats on Capitol Hill and I cross trained with lunch time spin classes. Regardless, committing to my training and giving up those Friday nights out paid off when I shaved over an hour off of my previous marathon time.

Tough Lesson #3: Have A Cheer Squad Not every race goes perfectly. Whether it’s a 5k, a half marathon or a marathon, having family there with band aids when a blister is forming at mile 19, or even just someone to hug you at the end, family and friends make a world of difference. I ran my hometown race in Burlington, VT in 2009 and again in 2010 and set my marathon PR in 2009 with my dad and grandfather cheering me on at the finish. At mile 20, just before running by my grandparent’s house, my aunt texted me and asked where I was. My response? Mile 19, need Band-Aids. Seriously, it was like a race car team changing my tires before I went back out on the course. It was amazing. But seriously? I’ve run races where there’s no one there thanks to my husband’s US Army training, and I’ve run races where I have a whole team of cheerleaders – and having the cheerleaders is always more rewarding.

Tough Lesson #4 It’s All About the Attitude After my amazing PR and the elation that came from that at Vermont City Marathon 2009, I registered for it again. It was a beautiful race, if you’ve never been to Vermont? Go. Visit. Fall in love. Run the Marathon up there – the finish line next to Lake Champlain is one of the most beautiful. I registered for the race after Adam and I moved to CT in Fall 2009. Race day came, and I did not feel confident. I ran the race anyhow. How could I not? No one really wants to DNS an expensive race that you traveled to and took time off of work for. But I used myself as a mental punching bag for a good 15 miles. Everything I could have done wrong, I did. Marathons are not just physically challenging, they’re mental. You can train all you want but if you’re head isn’t in the race? You’re not going to have fun and above everything else, running and racing should be fun.

It’s not about the distance, it’s not about your time. It’s about being mentally strong. It’s about being confident. It’s about the reward – finishing. No matter what distance you run don’t feel like because you’re not running marathons or ultras or triathlons, that you’re not as accomplished as others. Stop comparing yourself and just be proud of yourself. I’ve taken these lessons not just in my running, but in every day life. Because ultimately attitude is everything and having a positive one will not just get you through 26.2 miles, but also through any other situation in life. After my 4th marathon, I took a break. Do I want to run another? Sure. Five is better than four right? But right now, I’m not at a place in my life where I can commit to the training, the long runs, the miles, and the pain in my knees. Knowing that leaves me in a better place to tackle the distance in the future.

Thanks again for the opportunity to share my lessons with your readers! -Heidi

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