My Training for a Half Marathon… and the lessons I learned!

It’s amazing what we can learn when we set a goal that seems far above our current abilities (and certainly out of our comfort zone!)—and we go through the process of achievement through trial, error, adjustments, and persistence.

Over about eight months, I prepared myself for a half marathon that took place in January 2013, at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I’d never done anything like this before: 13.1 miles! It seemed—when I started—like an insane undertaking; and looking back, it still does!

My underlying intentions were to improve my overall level of fitness, lose some weight, feel better and, yes, look better too. There were many possible paths that could have gotten me there, but my significant-other Charlie and his lovely daughter were already committed to running the half marathon followed by the full marathon the next day (very appropriately called the Goofy Challenge) so I figured I could at least muster the half marathon and we could all support each other in our training.

By writing about the new strengths I discovered in myself—and weaknesses, too—and then tossing in some accountability by opening myself up through sharing all of it with the world … well, the experience itself became a personal treasure chest of the highest value.

Here are just a few of the things I learned along this journey:

• Perspective is everything.
• Experience counts.
• Milestones are important, should be celebrated, and contribute to wonderful feelings of accomplishment and self-confidence.
• The importance of following a plan.
• What seems hard now will seem easy later.
• Pushing past my comfort zone takes me to the next level, where I will need to push past my NEW comfort zone to get to the level after that.
• My self-view and self-definition need to keep up with my progress.
• My training mantra of “Finish Strong” serves me in every area of my life.

While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior. 
~Henry C. Link

Some other things I’ve learned are the importance of pacing, how to push forward while experiencing pain, and the importance of seeking help when it’s needed.

I’ve rediscovered that a goal so big that it requires the use of your entire physical, mental, and emotional focus over many months helps a person “find a way” to success. To find his or her OWN way. Perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that we’re each unique and must do what works for us as individuals. My experience has helped me, once again, to validate that Human Design is the best tool on the planet for helping us do that effectively. Understanding our own strengths and weaknesses in one area of life proves useful in all areas of our lives.

The “Zone” is that magical place where you have a comfortable rhythm going and it feels like you could keep going forever. When you’re firing on all cylinders with minimal effort. Use my experience to help you  “keep going until you find the Zone” for whatever it is your life is asking of you, right now.

Experience is learning from your own mistakes. Wisdom is learning from others’ mistakes.
     ~Unknown

Please join me as I share with you the treasures I’ve discovered (and re-discovered) along my journey.  Ride the my ups and downs with me and learn how I was able to overcome “myself” along the way.

Below are excerpts from emails where I reported to my subscribers on my progress and insights.
(if you aren’t a subscriber, click below)

July, 2012

I haven’t told this to many people yet, so I guess I’m going “public” with it here and now… I’m in training for a half marathon – my first ever! That’s 13.1 miles.

Yikes!

The event is in early January, 2013 at Walt Disney World in Orlando – woohoo!!!!

(There’s a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday.)

I’m finding there are useful lessons and learning opportunities during the training process, and I’ll be sharing those with you as they show up.

Here’s one from today. As I started my 3-mile slow, smooth jog this morning (I’ve always been a walker not a runner and have just started easing into light jogging—more about that another time), it actually felt EASY. Amazing. Only two weeks ago, jogging 3 miles felt hard. What changed?

The main thing was that I walked/jogged 7 miles last Friday. Yes, seven. A major milestone for me! Surprisingly, miles 1-6 didn’t seem too bad (except that it was beastly hot). Mile 7 was hard. But as a result of that accomplishment, my little 3-mile jog today seemed easy.

There are several lessons I’m taking away from this:

1. Perspective is everything.
2. Experience counts.
3. Milestones are important, should be celebrated, and contribute to wonderful feelings of accomplishment and self-confidence.
4. What seems hard now will seem easy later.
5. Pushing past my comfort zone takes me to the next level, where I will need to push past my NEW comfort zone to get to the level after that.
6. My self-view and self-definition need to keep up with my progress.

It’s my hope and intention that continuing to share these personal experiences will be of benefit to you. This ezine, and all of my work, endeavors to go beyond just Human Design to support you in living an abundant, authentic, and truly awesome life!

August 2012, Part 1

The 6-miler and 7-miler jogs I did a few weeks ago (which were one week apart, with shorter jogs between) really wiped me out, so I’ve been working on how to manage this whole process so it’s more sustainable for me. I’m really using my knowledge of being a Projector Type to help me know how to proceed and how to take care of myself. I’ve pulled back on distance for now but still going out 4 times a week, for 2 or 3 miles each time. That’s feeling pretty good.

I’m experimenting with alternating between brisk walking and slow jogging, so I can pace myself better. Currently doing 5 minutes of each, using a nifty gadget called the GymBoss (gymboss.com). Seems to be working. I did 4 ½ miles today and wasn’t exhausted. I guess I need to build my stamina gradually. 😉

My Lessons and Breakthroughs

1. Having a short-term goal gives immediate focus, which is especially useful when the long-term goal seems overwhelming. At around 3 miles today, I thought about needing to go another 10 miles to complete the half marathon in January and found that overwhelming. But I looked at my GymBoss and thought, “if I jog another 2 minutes, I can walk for 5… I can do that.”
2. I came up with a mantra for myself today that I think will see me through this entire process: I want to FINISH STRONG. Each time I thought that mantra during my ‘wog’ (walk/jog), it popped me out of my random thought processes and back into being aware of my body and surroundings, my posture improved, my movements became more efficient (less effort, so I conserved energy), and I could ‘see” myself finishing strong today, and in the longer term. It really worked!

“Finishing Strong”

What a great mantra for anything we undertake in life, whether a specific project, running your own business, or taking care of your body for healthy longevity.

As a business owner, I am asking myself… how can I finish strong this year? How can I finish strong this quarter, this week… or even this day? How can I get to the end and feel good about my accomplishments, without exhausting myself and without dragging, lagging, or sagging across the finish? What do I need to do to take care of myself to support this? How do I need to set up my day, my systems, my support team, etc.?

How can YOU “finish strong” in whatever is currently challenging YOU?

August 2012, Part 2

1. I’m still working with my “Finish Strong” mantra that I shared with you in the last ezine. It really helps!
2. I was having pain in my right hip during and after my walk/jog outings, so I took a week off and have been working on getting it resolved. I’m doing strength training, seeing my chiropractor, and trying different solutions.
3. Through a combination of things, my hip is feeling much better. Yay!
4. I’m training again and now following Jeff Galloway’s guidelines for new Half Marathoners (found on the http://www.rundisney.com/ site) which calls for a less demanding schedule of mileage than I was doing (which feels better for me as a Projector!) and more walking, less jogging. Starting with 10 seconds jogging and 50 seconds walking. I had been doing 5 minutes jogging and 5 minutes walking! New system is letting me build endurance without exhausting myself.
5. I’m visualizing myself finishing the race in January, but relaxing into the recommended training pacing and not worrying about how far I am currently from being able to do an entire Half Marathon. [In other words, I’m resisting the temptation to stress about it! <grin>]

October, 2012, Part 1

I “wogged” (that’s a combination of walking and jogging) over 5 miles this morning. Woohooo! I could have gone the full 6.5 miles that my training schedule calls for, except I had foot pain.

That remains to be resolved but I’m actively working on it with the invaluable help of my chiropractor. I’ve also solved my minor hip issue (yay!), and found wonderful, roomy, “zero drop” shoes at http://www.altrazerodrop.com/.

My Lessons and Breakthroughs from my Training Process

1. My FINISH STRONG mantra is fabulous. I use it every time I train… and in many other areas of my life on a regular basis too!
2. We of course “learn as we go” for many things in life, but being prepared to begin something new has tremendous benefit and value. I did not have an initial foundation of appropriate knowledge nor had I done simple but effective preparation (in this case, basic physical conditioning), so I began my training a few months ago doing too much, too fast— and I really wasn’t ready for it so it set me back. (I’ve since done my basic conditioning and found an excellent training schedule for beginners!)
3. When I apply lesson 2 (above) to my life and to running my business, I see that when I “wing it” I get haphazard results. But when I keep my long-term goals in mind and take the time to work “smart” and not just “hard,” I get better short-term and long-term results.

But this is from the perspective of MY Human Design—I have depth (Gate 48) and details (Gate 62) in my chart!

Interestingly, Human Design shows us that some people are actually designed to “wing it” —but that still doesn’t guarantee they’ll get great results from that process!

The bottom line is that we’re each unique and must do what works for us. Human Design is the best tool on the planet for helping us do that effectively.

October, 2012, Part 2

Yep, it’s true. I even amazed myself. Not only did I complete the 8 miles today that’s on my training schedule… but I finished strong. Except for the increasing foot pain at that point (which I’m in the process of resolving), the rest of me could have kept going! It’s the furthest I’ve ever wogged (walked/jogged), I did it in 2 hours and 3 minutes, and I had tons of energy the rest of the day. Go figure!

Lessons and Breakthroughs from my Training Process

I’m excited to share something I discovered today. I had heard about it from other runners, but never experienced it myself until now. I found THE ZONE! It’s that magical place where you have a comfortable rhythm going and it feels like you could keep going forever. Firing on all cylinders with minimal effort. Although it really does feel like magic, it is probably a simple combination of correct body form and correct use of energy. Whatever it is, it’s awesome!

November, 2012

More significant progress! Two weeks ago I did 8 miles of wogging (walk/jog combination), and today I did 9 ½ miles. Woohoooo! My furthest ever.

Before now, I had no idea if I’d be able to do that much. But it’s working!

My foot issue didn’t bother me until after mile 8… so that’s progress, too.

Lessons and Breakthroughs from my Training Process

1. My FINISH STRONG mantra continues to be fabulous for me. I used it many times today, especially in the last miles when I found myself slogging through the walking and jogging. I would remember the mantra and instantly adjust my posture, pace, thoughts and attitude. Even though I’m understandably a little muscle-sore right now, I did finish strong!
2. Pick up my feet and pay attention–don’t get tripped up by the stupid small stuff, like an uneven sidewalk or a twig or acorn. It’s such an applicable lesson for managing one’s life or running a business. Small stuff, like overdrawing your bank account or not filing on time for business licenses, can turn into big stuff that siphons resources (your attention and often your money) from where they NEED to be.
3. Following a plan (a training schedule) created by someone with relevant experience that is tailored to my specific situation (new runner preparing for a half marathon) has made a HUGE difference. I’ve been able to build my stamina gradually without over doing it. I plan my personal schedule around my training schedule. Again, a great lesson to apply to life and especially to growing a business.

December, 2012, Part 1

Much progress since I last updated you. I did 11 miles a few weeks ago at my 20 seconds jog & 40 seconds walk pace. Wow. When I started this training I didn’t know I was capable of doing that. This weekend is 14 miles. After that I KNOW I’ll be able to complete the 13.1-mile half marathon!

Lessons and Breakthroughs from my Training Process

1. My FINISH STRONG mantra truly keeps me focused and balanced. Part of my training includes an occasional “miracle mile” where I clock my time for one mile going as reasonably fast as I’m comfortable with. The first time, I chose to start strong and see if I could keep up an ambitious pace. I couldn’t. I was miserable the whole mile and finished weak. The next time, I moderated my pace better, improved my time, and felt good at the end. Yay.
2. I used to think that training for and running a marathon (or even a half marathon) was completely insane. I still do. But somehow I’m actually enjoying the process. Go figure. 🙂

December, 2012, Part 2

Just over a week ago I was scheduled to do 14 miles. Although I didn’t do all 14 at my training pace, I did do 13.5 miles at that pace and I’m proud of that! And if you count the warm up and cool down segments, I covered well over 14 miles. Wow. I’m still amazed.

Lessons and Breakthroughs from my Training Process

1. My FINISH STRONG mantra totally rocks. It’s hard to describe just how much this two-word phrase has helped me… and continues to help me. It’s a keeper, and for much more than just half-marathon training!
2. Having confidence in the absence of evidence is faith. Having evidence to support confidence is smart. I KNOW I can walk/jog a Half Marathon because I’ve already done it—my 13.5 miles surpassed the 13.1-mile half marathon distance. Now it’s a matter of managing the mechanical issues on race day. My left foot still bothers me so I’m continuing to figure out how to resolve it.

January, 2013, Part 1

During and after my long training wog (walk/jog) of 13.5 miles three weeks before the race, my left foot was hurting (probably a neuroma issue) more than ever. Even my short training wogs after that—of only 2 miles each—were painful.

On the 3-miler exactly one week before the race, it was hurting from the start and I was feeling really discouraged. I even considered not running the race. I knew I couldn’t FINISH STRONG if I couldn’t even start in good shape. And I didn’t particularly want to be miserable the entire 13.1 miles.

My discouragement was enough to distract me into tripping which scrapped and bruised my right knee… after which I hobbled home. But rather than give up, I got really focused on doing everything I could think of to reduce the inflammation in my body… to minimize my foot pain. I stopped eating all grains, dairy and sugars; got more sleep; and followed my chiropractor’s advice more diligently than ever.

It seemed to help. My Tuesday wog before the Saturday race was better, and by Thursday I did my 2 miles pain free. Wow. My enthusiasm and optimism returned and though I figured the pain would return at some point during the race at least I felt ready to give it a good “go.”

1. FINISH STRONG.  “What do I need to do right now in order to finish strong later?” This question got me through my training and–ultimately–the race itself. ‘Nuf said.
2. Obstacles cause us to focus in a way we usually won’t do until we’re challenged by them. This often leads to new breakthroughs, innovations, and finding previously untapped strengths. It’s an empowering new way to view those pesky (and even monumental) challenges in our lives.

January, 2013, Part 2 — RACE DAY ITSELF

We brought our own food for the few days we were at Disney before the race. We had also been going to bed progressively earlier and getting up earlier for 5 days, to be prepared for the 2am alarm buzzer on race morning.

The race itself officially began at 5:30am. Yes, that’s crazy.  But Disney has an entire theme park complex to run and gazillions of guests to welcome each day, so they need to open on time and minimize road closures, etc., when  people are arriving. Most of their parks open at 9am.

We were supposed to be at the staging area no later than 4:30 and in our starting “corral” by 5am. We were out the door of our hotel (on the Disney grounds) by 3am and took a race-provided shuttle bus to Epcot where everything was starting.

Gratefully the weather was very mild (actually, unseasonable warm) but even 60 degrees at 3:30am, with lots of Florida’s lovely humidity, can have a chill–especially with a little breeze. We were prepared, though, with disposable things to sit on and plastic garbage bags to keep us warm while we waited 3 hours on the pavement until we actually crossed the start line. The first “corral” group started at 5:30, but we were in the last group which didn’t start until nearly 6:30. Did I mention how totally insane this was!

Alas, we were definitely not the only crazies that morning. There were 27,000 others registered to run the half marathon with us. Around 25,000 actually started the race and nearly 24,000 finished. That’s a lot of people!

Here’s my good news:  I felt really good that morning. My foot was not hurting and I was in great spirits. There were fireworks to welcome each group across the starting line, thumping music to pump us up, and fellow runners in awesome and hysterical costumes to amuse us.

Disney does races like this with style. Live bands along the way. A beautiful collection of cool kites and banners. Disney characters at various points for photos ops. Yes, some runners would stop running, stand in line for 5 minutes or more to get their pic taken with a favorite character, then get back in the race! Crazy.

We got to run THROUGH Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom which is usually closed to the public. There were trumpeters, more bands, more characters, singing choirs, and lots of water stops (and medical stations, which fortunately we didn’t need).

I had a blast for the first 7 or 8 miles. With my sweetheart Charlie by my side, we kept to my training pace of 20 seconds jogging and 40 seconds walking the entire race. When the course got narrow we would sometimes get trapped behind slower folks so we lost a little time, but our pace was pretty consistent and pretty comfortable.

I had two clear intentions that day: to finish (and finish as strong as I could), and to have FUN. But Charlie needed to finish within a minimum time (average of 16-minute miles) in both the half and the full marathons to qualify for his Goofy Challenge medal–which was his objective. He could easily have gone faster than I was going that day, but he wanted to run with me and support me (which I really appreciated). And we were having fun together.

Around mile 3 or 4 my foot started hurting a little, but not too bad–which was a significant improvement over just a week before! But with each mile it did get worse.

By mile 7 or 8 it was hurting quite a bit. Also, we thought we had lost some time by then. It turns out we had been averaging 15:20 miles quite consistently to that point, which was great. But I didn’t want Charlie to not qualify because of me, so when we had clear space ahead of us on the jogs I would kick up my speed a bit. I don’t know whether that affected my foot but it definitely affected my stamina.

The result: I overrode my mantra of FINISH STRONG in favor of trying to go faster than I trained for–and in the last third of the race! Bad idea. It tired me out. Also, my foot was pretty much in constant pain, and it was sheer determination (and the loving support of Charlie who did not leave my side) that got me through those last 5 miles.

Grueling would be an apt description of those last miles. I kept trying to enjoy it as much as I could, but having it be over was pretty much all I could think about. And I was definitely slowing down. I told Charlie many times to go on ahead so he would be sure of qualifying, and I would find him after the finish. But it was more important to him to support me and cross the finish line with me (isn’t he awesome!), so he stayed. And we did cross the finish line together, holding hands.  And he did qualify.  We finished in 3 hours 24 minutes and 39 seconds (modern technology is SO precise!), averaging 15:37 miles. Whew.

Interestingly, this race was a great experience for Charlie. He had never run a half marathon but had run 7 full marathons over the last 16 years. Many times he inadvertently started too fast and burned out early. He knew he needed to go very easy on this half race so he’d have enough energy to complete the full the next day. By staying with me, at my pace, he kept a slow (for him!) steady pace and he finished strong. At least one of us did!

Charlie ran with his daughter during the entire marathon the next day and they finished in 6 hours 42 minutes and 24 seconds, an average of 15:21 miles–easily qualifying for their Goofy medals. Way to go, you two!  I can’t even imagine running 39.3 miles in two days, but I guess they could because they did it!

Here’s a photo of all three of us wearing our race medals, taken outside our hotel, after Charlie and his daughter finished their Marathon on Sunday.

January, 2013, Part 3 — POST-RACE Observations and Lessons

This will be my last entry about my half marathon training and learning process, as the race took place several weeks ago. I’ve been giving thought to some final lessons and observations I wanted to share with you.

Post-race observation #1:  Training makes a difference

I had the lovely opportunity of having dinner next to a 24-year-old the day after the half marathon. We had both run the 13.1-mile race the previous day. Her race time was faster than mine, but I couldn’t help but notice that her leg muscles were so sore she had serious trouble walking up and down stairs!

Despite my foot pain during the race, and getting over-tired from running a faster pace at mid-race than I had trained for, I felt remarkably good after the race was over. No sore muscles. No limping. No blisters. Very little joint stiffness.

We discussed it and she admitted that she had never run further than 5 miles—ever in her life—prior to the race. Going from 5 miles to 13.1 miles all at once really put a strain on her leg muscles.

Although she had youth on her side, I had training on my side and that’s an advantage I’ll take any day!

This lesson so readily applies to more than just exercise. For most things, it’s not enough just to learn how to do something. Consistent practice will help you get conditioned for it, so you can do it with minimal stress and strain.

Post-race observation #2:  Issues that don’t get handled will keep cropping up

I did not get my foot pain resolved before the race and it interfered with my performance and—more importantly—my enjoyment of the race. And it continues to interfere with my enjoyment of swing dancing (a longtime passion) and ballroom dancing (a recent undertaking).

My intention is to resolve it so it doesn’t bother me any more. I will keep exploring options and solutions until I find what works.

Post-race observation #3:  An immune system triple whammy will get me sick

I have a confession to make. Two days after the half marathon race, I came down with some kind of stomach flu.

I very rarely get sick, so this was unusual. I know there was something “going around” and I was exposed to many thousands of people before, during and after the race, but my immune system is usually strong enough to handle stuff like that.

So what happened?  Friends have asked if the half marathon was too much for me. They know I’m a Projector and have been concerned that I was overdoing it with all my training and the race itself.

But I don’t think that did it. I was recovering quite nicely from the race itself. It definitely put a strain on my body (including getting up at 2am to do it) so we’ll call it “immune system whammy #1”, but I would have been fine if there hadn’t been two more whammies within 48 hours.

Charlie and I had been saving some delicious dark chocolate to enjoy as a reward after I ran my half and he ran his one and a half. So on Sunday afternoon after his full marathon, we broke it open. Before we knew it, it was nearly all gone and we had eaten chocolate instead of lunch. Bad idea. I know that eating too much chocolate affects my immune system, but I wasn’t thinking about that then. Later that evening we ate a large buffet meal. So I’ll call those two things together “immune system whammy #2.”

I might have even been okay after all of that except that I slept really badly that night, likely the result of all that chocolate (I’m sensitive to caffeine, including what’s in chocolate) and all that food. I tossed and turned for about 6 hours and eventually got about 3 hours of sleep before we needed to pack up and drive home. That was “whammy #3” and I believe that’s what pushed me over the edge. By 2pm that next day, I had a fever and was feeling bad.

My takeaway lesson from this: manage all immune system whammies more consciously, and eat only small amounts of chocolate at a time!  <grin>

Thank you!

Thank you for joining me on this half marathon journey into unfamiliar territory that began more than 8 months ago. It’s been a far more profound and useful experience than I ever imagined. Since recovering from the flu, I’ve been “wogging” 2-3 miles three times a week—just like my training schedule but without the longer distances—to retain my conditioning and because it feels really good to do it! I’ve also added some strength training 2-3 times per week. I’m still working on fulfilling my intention of improving my health, fitness and appearance… by continuing what’s been working for me and exploring new ways to keep making progress.

I’d love to hear if anything I’ve shared has made a difference for YOU. Please share about it below.