Could You Run a Marathon?

If you are anything like me then the answer is or was a flat NO to this question. I used to laugh at the thought of running a 5k, never mind a 44k race. It was simply far too far outside of what I considered to be either interesting or achievable but part of me always knew that the reason I marked it as uninteresting was to allow myself avoid it when in reality I was just too scared to even contemplate trying to achieve it.

Everything feels impossible until you do it.

So on the eve of my 39th birthday, I made the most important decision.

I decided to take on the challenge of running 26.2 miles. At that time, I was not a runner, at least I never saw myself as a runner basically because I had never really run anywhere. Sure I ran for the bus occasionally and ran after my kids all the time, but I was far from the singlet wearing, slim build, expensive runner type that I classed as a “runner”.

Perception is a funny thing but you can use it to your advantage to simply change how you frame something – like running – to move it from the “I need to” zone to the “I get to” zone. In the “I get to” zone, like where I am right now, just having started training for my 3rd marathon in October, I feel so privileged and grateful to have the health, the ability and the tools I need to accomplish something like running a marathon. It’s a gift to myself.

But I will say this, when I first started running, it was hell. You can’t breathe, your legs are like lead pipes and you might feel like you are going to die. But if you persist for a few runs, you will start to see improvement very fast. Even by your 3rd or 4th outing, the feeling of dying is slipping away as you get a little fitter and stronger. It took me quite some time, maybe about 10 weeks of consistently running 3 or 4 times per week before I actually felt competent running and it was only at this point that I started to actually enjoy the activity. So bear that in mind, there are no quick hacks here, hasten slowly.

So whether you believe you can or can’t do a marathon, the answer is always, you CAN. There is a sign that is always up along the route of the marathon in Dublin each year that always resonates with me, it reads…