My First Marathon - The Race (Part 3 of 3)

 

So many people have asked me about how things actually went the day of the race, so I thought that would be a good end to this series. The night before, I had a meal of zucchini with pasta sauce, veggies, chickpeas and walnuts along with three generous portions of homemade sour dough bread! After enjoying this delicious meal, I went to my friend's hotel room because she had a bathtub and we did not in our historic boutique hotel. The reason this is important is because I took an ice bath! This is not the most pleasant experience in the world, but I have done a few now, and it truly helps with inflammation.  

After that invigorating experience, I went back to our room and began setting out my racing gear. I then did some yoga poses and headed to bed around 10pm. 

I set my alarm for 4:45 am but turned it off and slept for another 15 minutes. I then got up and put on my clothes, followed by warming up my knees with heating pads and moist washcloths for about 20 minutes. While I did this, I engaged in meditation. Once again, I visualized what it would be like to cross the finish line. I imagined how I would feel and sat with that for awhile. I then ate my normal banana and peanut butter for breakfast! My body is used to this routine and I was able to eliminate before the race! Super important! :) I headed out and arrived at 6:30 am with the race to begin at 7:30 am. 

Anne' and I warmed up with some morning yoga by the river as we watched the sun rise. It was absolutely beautiful! 

I packed the things I take on every single run --- I did not want to deviate from what I was accustomed to having on my runs. So I took my handheld Nathan water bottle with the pouch holding some Stinger Energy Gummies, three ibuprofen, my earbuds, and a maple syrup gel. I also wore my belt that holds my iPhone. I stashed a Noka Superfood Smoothie in the pouch of my shorts for my nutrition. I have not done very well with GU and Gels. They make me nauseous and I have even thrown up before after having a GU. The Noka works well for me when I am on my long runs. It is real food that I am used to having. I highly recommend! They are quite a bit larger than a gel, so you have to have a way to stash it on your run. 

Before I knew it, it was time to line up at the gate! Oh how I love this energy! Anne' and I pushed forward. I felt confident and a sense of exhilaration! We took off and Anne' and I enjoyed the course! We passed corn fields and then went into the cutest neighborhood. The support of this race is incredible and we appreciated all the cheers, high fives and signs along the way! One couple even provided Mimosas for the runners! I loved the humor! I had some of my superfood smoothie at about mile seven. This is also where they had GUs available so I went ahead and snatched one just in case! Additionally, I had water in my water bottle that I sipped along the way and was careful to make sure I drank gatorade at each station that it was available in. We kept a great pace and suddenly we were running up the hill that signaled we were getting close to her half marathon finish. We walked quickly on part of the hill and picked right back up with our running. In what seemed like no time at all, we saw the sign for me to split off from her and we said goodbye as we parted. The first half just flew by and I was feeling very strong! In fact, I thought to myself, "the best way to train for a half marathon was to train for a marathon because it wasn't nearly as difficult for me this year." 

I was afraid my husband would not know where to find me since we split off, but my fear was in vain as I rounded a corner and saw him standing there with our dog and the signs my students from school had made for me! This gave me a jolt of energy and filled my heart with such love and appreciation! It just meant so much to see him there and to see their signatures and words of encouragement! 

At this point, I had more of my superfood smoothie, a stinger gummy and put in my earbuds. Now one of the things I love doing on my long runs is listening to audiobooks and podcasts. So the book I decided to listen to for the second half of my marathon was the book Endure by Alex Hutchinson. This was very much on purpose! I was listening to a book about how people can endure more than their minds are willing to accept. It was awesome and kept my mind occupied with the research on precisely why I could finish this run! 

This part of the race was very quiet. We were off the roads and onto the Katy Trail. The runners thinned out significantly from the half marathon. The trail was beautiful and I enjoyed the peacefulness. I came to the bridge crossing the river and that was another hill to conquer. I had taken all of my Noka Superfood Smoothie and knew that I needed more fuel for that hill. This is when I had my maple syrup gel. It was definitely nice running down that hill, but I knew that meant I would also be going back up again! When I got to the turnaround at mile 19, I thought I should go to the bathroom since I had continued to sip my water and stop for Gatorade, and I needed to fuel again. Good thing I snatched that GU, because that is all I had left besides my Stinger gummies. As much as I hated to take that GU, I did (and it did make feel a bit nauseous, but I worked through it). Sadly, stopping at the bathroom was unnecessary as I had been sweating everything out. Rats! I wasted time on that! 

I had to walk up part of the hill and back over the river. I was a bit tired, but I never hit a wall, and nothing cramped up on me. At mile 20, I told myself, "this is just a Saturday morning run left! You've got this!" When I hit mile 22, a surge of emotion hit me and I got very teary-eyed. At this point, I actually said outloud --- "I'm really going to finish the marathon! I'm F-ing finishing this marathon! This is just a Monday night run left to go! Easy!" At this point, I switched from my audio book to my inspirational music playlist. It includes songs like Brave - Sara Bareilles, Times Like These - Foo Fighters, This Is Me - Keala Settle, Good As Hell - Lizzo, High Hopes - Panic At the Disco, We are Warriors - Avril Lavigne, What If - India.Arie, Love Myself - Hailee Steinfeld, to name a few. 

At Mile 25, Anne' and her daughter Theron came running up to me with hugs and they ran a few feet with me! That was an amazing boost! I got to what I thought was the end, only to have to make a turn and run some more! LOL! I then caught a glimpse of my husband and that finish line and began to book it! I was ALL smiles! I felt amazing! What an incredible feeling that is so hard to put into words! I finished in 5 hours and 3 minutes. I was hoping to finish in 4 hours, 59 minutes! But man, I will take it! I did not think this was bad at all for a person who has only been running 2 1/2 years and completing their first marathon. 

Then after the exhilaration, I limped to the stretching tent and got some ice for the knees. I got hugs from my crew before they took off, and then slowly walked over to ring the giant cowbell while eating my banana. 

WHAT. A. RUSH!!!

Not wanting to cramp my legs up for four hours on a ride home, we stayed another night and left in the morning! Once I got back into Kansas City, I went to have some bodywork done and promptly left to make it to our parent teacher conferences that began at 4:30pm that night. I walked (not limped) right in, a very happy principal! 

People ask me how it felt to finish. My reply is "Accomplished, sore and hungry!" The next question they ask me is, "Would you do it again?" My response? "Absolutely!" :) 

 

My First Marathon - The Mindset (Part 2 of 3)

 

So we left off at the mind/body connection in Part 1. I neglected to share a couple of important components regarding my training. Along with all the things I wrote about, I was also taking very good care of my body with bodywork. I was going twice a week to F.I.T. Muscle and Joint and getting soft tissue work, blood flow restriction therapy, dry needling and exercises assigned by the awesome Alex Beltrame. He also let me use these incredible recovery boots after my runs! They are the bomb diggety! 

Additionally, I got some massages along the way from the beautiful Jocelyn Costa, visited my amazing Sports Doc Isaac Combs, in Lawrence and saw my chiropractor, Dr. Taylor Phipps! I engaged in strength training sessions three times a week with my long time friend and trainer, Denise Sarver and used the heck out of the Sally McRae App. I wanted my body to be in the best possible health! 

Having confidence that I was taking the very best care of my physical body that I could, helped me to approach the marathon with a positive mindset and spirit!

I began my mindset work by going into meditation and envisioning myself as a marathon runner. Having read all the books I shared in Part 1, I knew that I was doing everything possible to have my body physically ready, but I also knew the most difficult work would happen in my mind. 

I engage in daily meditation. Sometimes it is just a few minutes, and sometimes it lasts for 30 minutes or more. During my meditation as I was training, I would see myself crossing that finish line. I would practice feeling what that was like. I could see the facial expression I would have, and feel the accomplishment I would feel. I would practice in my mind what it might feel like to want to give up along the way, and how I would overcome that. I gave up my negative self-talk about my ability as a runner and began telling myself that I was an excellent runner and that I had been a runner all along, and just didn't know it. I gave myself kuddos for meeting my goals, increasing my mileage, and hitting new times. Similarly to Deena Kastor, my positive self talk and flipping negative beliefs about myself helped me to better handle disappointments and tough runs. She explains in her book, Let Your Mind Run,  

"By identifying a thought that was holding me back and replacing it with a new one to help me forward, I undid years of self-destructive thinking patterns that had left me unhappy and injury prone. And I built better mental habits that not only propelled my success but also prepared me to handle setbacks and challenges." 

The crazy thing about this process is that it not only increased my confidence as a runner, but it increased my confidence in other areas of my life and I have just been happier! Running makes me happy! :) 

(Screen shot from Bank of America Chicago Marathon Facebook Post, that includes Deena Kastor along with the incredible Emily Sisson, Joean Benoit Samuelson and Keira D'Amato) 

Another part of this mindset work revolved around the concept of pain. I know that our brains can play tricks on us and I had read the research regarding pain. In fact, I used to think the saying, “No pain, no gain” was just horrible! However, through the process of training for this marathon, I now have a new appreciation and understanding of pain. Last year as I was training for my first half marathon, I was terrified that if I felt pain, something in my body was broken or damaged. This caused me to stop doing what I was doing...running. Now that is kind of the purpose of pain, right? To make you stop? You put your hand on a hot stove, you get some pain, and you stop putting your hand on the stove. That is one way our pain protects us. But having the strength to endure pain can also produce something beautiful. For example, the pain of childbirth. Honestly, through the pain of my divorce, I gained my life back and eventually gained the husband I kept. ;)  There was a price to pay, but it was worth it. Similarly, training for this marathon was not easy and there was definitely a price to pay, and it definitely involved some level of pain. With the help of my medical and running experts, I learned to recognize when it was ok to run with the pain of my runner's knee (inflammation) without doing any damage, and I learned when I should let my body rest. Through this entire marathon experience, I came to understand my body more intimately and came to understand my mind/body/spirit connection in an entirely different way. It is SO POWERFUL. 

My only regret is that it took me so long to realize I am a runner. The good news is, if I make it to my goal age of 103 years, I have 51 years left to keep running! I am absolutely hooked, and cannot wait for my next marathon. Heck - who knows what else might be next? My marathon experience taught me there is nothing holding me back. I got out of my own way. 

My First Marathon - The Training (Part 1 of 3)

Let's get this straight right from the start. I am 52 years old and up until I turned 50 years old, I never saw myself as a runner. In fact, I would make jokes saying that the only time you would see me running was chasing children down Brighton (the road in front of the school where I am an elementary principal). 

I turned 50 years old on February 6, 2020. Just a little more than a month later, the Covid pandemic hit, and a month earlier, my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 66. I was at a crossroads in my life. I was overweight, overtired, oversad, and over it. I had lost many loved ones the previous five years and I came to the realization that nearly half of my life was over if I were to make it to my goal age of 103 years old. I was deeply contemplative about losing my loved ones, studying their life choices, their health and looking at a sick and unhealthy version of myself in the mirror. 

I was changing many of my nutritional habits (based on research) and I had made a commitment to working out regularly. I had been going to Orange Theory for about six months when the pandemic hit, causing that to no longer be an option. What was a 50 year old, trying to get to a healthy version of herself supposed to do?! I did the only thing I could do. I starting running. We bought a nice treadmill that came in super handy, but I also began running on the Trolley Trail near my house. I started out telling myself, "I will do this Orange Theory style. I will walk fast for a base pace to that pole, then I will run at a push pace to the next pole. Then I will do a 30 second sprint and after that, go back to my base fast walking pace." 

I kept challenging myself to run farther and pretty soon I could run a mile without stopping. Before I knew it, I could run three miles without stopping. At that point, I was hooked and I joined the Kansas City Running Club. I figured I had a lot to learn and could use some company on my runs. I signed up for training and track practice. I will never forget my first track practice. I was so embarrassed. People were lapping me like crazy. The voice inside my head told me "You are never coming back here! You suck and who do you think you are to join a group like this?!" Then Principal Casey came out and said, "Really? What would you say to one of your students or teachers who talked like that?! You would tell them that comparison is the thief of joy and that you are not comparing yourself to others! You are here to learn and grow and to get better!" 

In October of 2021, I ran my first Half Marathon in St. Charles, MO. There were many obstacles along the way, including runner's knee, but I finished with a great time and lots of smiles! I definitely was ready to do it again! 

I ran through the winter and began training for a spring half marathon. This time it was Rock the Parkway in Kansas City and I improved on my time. I was so excited about this that I begin to wonder if I could pull off a marathon. I visited with some of my friends who had done marathons and got mixed reviews.  I was warned about how much time and commitment was involved with the training. I decided to train as if I were doing a marathon, reserving the right to do a half marathon instead. I didn't make a public announcement. That was too much accountability! LOL! And quite frankly, I didn't want any pressure.

I began doing work outs by Sally McRae --- an ultra runner that was a former teacher. She inspires me so much! You must check out her podcast! I read all the books I could get my hands on about running! I LOVED Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor, Eat and Run by Scott Jurek and Steve Friedman, The Plant-Based Ahtlete by Matt Frazier, Running Your First Marathon by Grete Waitz and Gloria Averbuch, Running Your First Ultra by Krissy Moehl, Yoga for Runners by Christine Felstead, Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us About Living Younger, Longer by Margaret Webb, and Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe Vigil by Pat Melgares. 

The books fulfilled my quest to understand and got my brain involved in the process. Next was getting my body in the best shape possible. My training schedule included strength workouts three mornings a week before school on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. I did a group run on Monday nights that were generally 4 miles long. I did my track workouts on Wednesday nights that included all kinds of drills and new terminology I knew nothing about prior! Thursday morning I got up before school to run three miles with my neighbor and dear friend, Anne', and Saturdays were dedicated to my long runs. I tried to make Sundays a day of rest and yoga! 

As the mileage increased, this became very challenging. I had to set aside 3-4 hours on Saturday for running and then would often go do a Cherry Bomb show in the evening! Sometimes this just did not work out and I would have to get a long run in on Sunday which really threw everything off! I was deeply grateful for the many Running Club members that offered to run with me so I could get all my miles in! Huge shout outs to Anne' Erickson, Nick Pettit, Mark and Ben Stallbaumer, Mike Faulconer, Maya Kamen and Elizabeth Campbell. I can never thank our coach enough! Brett Guemmer has taught me so much, and though he has coached Olympic runners, he never made me feel "less than." He always took time to visit with me and answer my plethera of questions, helped me to set goals, and even cheered me on during my marathon via my Garmin! 

My nutrition was vital to my training and I had NO idea how important this was, especially for the race! I have been following a whole foods, plant-based diet for over 2 1/2 years now! My body LOVES this and reacts well! While training, I paid special attention to my gut health and besides drinking my protein rich, green smoothie, I added a wellness shot of turmeric root, ginger root, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic and honey/dates. This was incredible for inflammation and my immune system. Ok - so now the one thing that had to go...all alcohol. My body did NOT like this for running! AT ALL. While I have enjoyed some since the race is over, I am contemplating if there is really room for it in my life. It negatively affects my sleep, which is CRUCIAL for recovery and the bottom line is, it is just poison, no matter how much I enjoy it! Ugh! 

Speaking of sleep - this was vital for my training. If I did not have adequate sleep, those long runs were brutal. I valued my sleep so much that I had to make a temporary bedroom downstairs so that my hubby's snoring would not keep me awake. I didn't like it...it felt weird. That also meant Friday nights were not that exciting! LOL! Watch a little TV, without at drink (Friday's are Whiskey Friday around here), and go to bed about 9 pm so I could get up at 4:30am in order to be ready to run about 5:00 or 5:15 am. 

All of these pieces came together to set the stage for my training, however, the most compelling training happened with my mind. The mind/body connection is absolutely fascinating! And that, my friends, is for part 2 of this blog!