Marathon this Sunday

This Sunday I will be running the Dallas Whiterock Marathon with my brother and a friend. This will be the 2nd of 4 marathons I am running in the span of 16 weeks. To be completely honest though, I haven't run very much since the last marathon. I guess I will see what it feels like to run 26.2 miles without any long runs within the past month.

Fortunately, the plan is to go slow. As of right now, although race day always throws curve balls, the plan is to just enjoy ourselves and finish the run. I am really looking forward to this marathon as it will be my fourth, my brother's second (his first was MCM earlier this year where he got injured pretty bad) and our friend's first official marathon, although he is a great runner and may have already run a marathon - or close to it - just because, at some point in time.

Hopefully, we stick to this plan. Although anytime my brother and I are in a run together it automatically becomes a race. His first marathon earlier this year is a great example. We ran the MCM this past October together and were planning on running around a 6:45-7:15 pace. We came through the first 5K at just under 20 min putting us at a 6:15 pace. It was at this point I realized it was going to be a difficult run. Long story short, my brother (having never run a marathon before) decided he felt good and continued to pick up the pace. I slowed down and dropped back. At one point my brother hit a 5:45 mile if not faster than that which is quite impressive for a marathon. Unfortunately, he ended up hitting the wall early because of the hills at the beginning of the course. He pulled both his calves within the frist 10 miles and I caught him at the half way point. He finished that marathon in more pain than I could imagine, but he finished. My pride for my borther finishing that race cannot be put in words. He ran 16 miles with both his calves pulled, compensating by changing his stride and further injuring himself, and still ran a sub 3:30 marathon. He ran through more pain that I can imagine.

Anyways, I hope we are better able to stick to the plan this time around and just have fun.

I am finally beginning to get used to the thought that it is almost normal to run 26.2 miles just for fun. I think this just goes to show how crazy I truly am. Many people hear the word marathon and run for the hills (ironic how fast they run to get away from the thought of running long distances). I love watching people's faces when I tell them I have run multiple marathons. I honestly am one who believes that almost anyone is physically capable of running a marathon. True, some might need a lot more training than others (I am lucky and can get by without much training although that will have to change for the 50 miler), but I still think almost anyone could complete a marathon.

It is all a mental thing. If a person is able to break the mental barrier telling them that 26.2 miles is an impossibly long run and they just can't do it, they would be surprised to see how much fun it is to complete a marathon. Running has always been a mind game for me. If you can trick your mind into thinking you can accomplish something, you most likely will.

I think I'm gonna have to eventually put up a post just trying to explain what goes on in my mind during a run, because I approach running with the idea that 90% of any run is completed in the mind, and only 10% is the actual physical doing of the run. This of course assumes that you have done the proper training and the goal is reasonable. I in no way mean to say that if someone wants to run a 4 minute mile but has never broken 8 minutes, they will simply cut their time in half by just believing it. But if that person's goal is to run a 7:30 mile and they are willing to put in the time to train and truly believe they can do it, they I am willing to bet they are successful.

Alright well that is all for now. I will be putting up a post after the marathon this Sunday. Hopefully I am able to report about how successful it is and how great of a time we all had. I would like to thank all those who support me in my craziness of running and those who will be running with me this weekend.

As always, all Glory to God who has given me the ability to run. I thank the Lord each day for this gift He has blessed me with. May He protect all the runners out there this weekend and keep us safe and injury free.