Marathon #1: Final Thoughts

"I don't believe in fear. I believe in putting in the work" ~Deena Kastor

51 weeks ago I started on this journey but I wasn't sure where I was headed at first. In the short-term, I was determined to run a 2.6 mile 4th of July fun run without embarrassing myself. Soon thereafter, much bigger goals began to form. Tomorrow I will run my first marathon and my goal is to finish in less than 3 ½ hours.

My training has been in two stages. Until December I would run when I felt like it (a lot) and as much as I felt like (also a lot, given I had no base). I was sloppy, unfocused and undisciplined in my training. I was rewarded with knee pain that kept me off the road for most of the month.

As the New Year began, I knew if I was going to run the Newport Marathon I was going to need to change everything. I would have to be more disciplined in my physical training. I would need to be more conscious of my diet. And I would have to be stronger mentally, not just to make it 26 miles, but to make it through the cold, rainy, windy months of winter. To this end, I developed my own 3-point approach that I trusted would carry me through the finish line and beyond.

First, I built myself a 21 week training schedule. Nothing fancy. Run on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and rest on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Increase the mileage slowly, no matter how well I felt. I didn't need to be able to run 20 miles in February. Or March. Given the constraints on my time, I wasn't concerned with cross-training, fartleks, interval training or weigh-lifting. Just get the miles in, stick to the program, get proper amounts of regular rest and train and push my body in such a way that it would become accustomed to what I was asking it to do and then let my competitiveness take care of the rest.

Second, I had to change my diet. I've written extensively about my fruit intake, but changing my diet was a necessity. I started eating 10 servings of fruit each morning. Today, I eat only fruit during the day until dinner, which consists of pasta, taco salad, millet, or some other low-fat meal. I cut out dairy, meats, refined sugars, processed foods, and in the last couple of weeks, oils and fats (in the form of various kinds of nuts). Occasionally I will enjoy something outside of this (I’m still a sucker for pizza), but only when I have an additional rest day before my next run (Saturday afternoon/evening, Monday night). Some may disagree with this approach. Fine. Let them do what works for them. This has made a huge difference for me. (You can see my wife’s website for more information – www.fruitpredominantdiet.com)

Finally, I knew I had to strengthen myself mentally. Five months ago my thoughts were negative and self-defeating. Some were more passive than others, but they were all sending the same message: "You can't do this. It's too hard." This is no longer the case. I've learned to focus my thoughts only on things that will help me. And when my body starts to hurt and tell my mind that it's had enough, my mind is now the one in charge. Visualization exercises have also become a staple of my training. Like visualizing shooting a free throw, the mind doesn’t know if the body is following along in the activity or not and frankly, the mind doesn’t care; it’s going through the same processes regardless.

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.” This quote from George S. Patton has been a constant at the top of this blog for a reason. By strengthening myself mentally, my mind is no longer tired. It tells my body what to do.

21 weeks of this program and I haven’t strayed from it one day. I've run through rain, snow, ice, wind, hail, thunder and lightning, and occasional sunshine. I’ve pushed through shin splints, muscle cramps and bloody toes. I’ve gone up hills, through neighborhoods, along highways and through the countryside. I've run at 5am on Saturday morning, and late in the evening after a long day at work and home. I took days off when my program said so. No other time. I didn’t shortchange my miles ever. I ran what my program said to run and then some, just for good measure. And I've done all of these runs by myself. No running groups, running buddies, or dogs (just the ones coming after me).

21 weeks ago I began a 3-point plan that I believed would help me achieve my goal of running a marathon. I put my trust in this plan and haven't deviated from it since.

"I don't believe in fear. I believe in putting in the work," Denna Kastor said.

The Newport Marathon begins in a few hours and I will be at the starting line.

The work is done. The time for fear, anxiety, second-guessing and even preparation is past.

The time to run is now.