I can relate - Marathon Edition

 ​Durban!!

“Did you ever run that race you were training for?”  Yes! And it was fantastic!! 

I do a marathon once every few years or so, often to explore a new city/place, to make an excuse to get fit and travel somewhere I may otherwise not go, but this time, I wanted a goal. I haven’t trained properly for a marathon in years (maybe ever), I just run  (very inconsistently).

I found in my 20’s and early 30’s, I could run Boston qualifying times when I didn’t try (poor sleep habits, crap diet, random long runs, probably hungover), but when I did actively try, I couldn’t. My mental game was more important than my physical capacity. So I gave up on structure, running my best marathons with the least amount of training, little thought, no expectations - both 3h31mins. Surely, with some proper training, at this stage of my life, I should be able to beat that… I hope? So this time, I signed up with a goal - sub 3:30.

I signed up with a generic plan I found online and got to it. My head was in the game and I actually felt excited to train. I enjoyed almost every run (I think). (This surprised me). I used to run for time, making success very black and white, leaving little window for “success” and therefore very little window for happiness. Did you get your time, or not? And therefore, running was a chore. 

With age and maturity , I found it was nice to just; 1. Be outside 2. Listen to music 3. Move my body. Exercise feels incredible (often after, not always during). And so of course, I found it was easier to enjoy every run, and therefore, enjoy my training.

About 4 weeks before the race, I felt incredible. I thought, “I wish I started my training at this point, with the foundation I have now. Not from scratch, but feeling like a runner again…” OK...so why not do that? Loosen the grip on time expectations, but know it’s still there, at some race, waiting for you. Does it HAVE to be now?

My biggest “worry” of this race wasn’t not getting my time after training, it was finishing it and not enjoying it…finishing and being disappointed. (Running 42.2km and being upset? No. Not ok.)

So I made the conscious choice to let the “sub 3:30 must happen on that specific day” go, and I realized, actually, I don’t want a 3:29. I want a 3:25, or 3:21… and I want to really enjoy being a runner, so I better make goals in a way that help me to keep liking it. I changed my goal. I made a bigger one, with a bigger vision and different plan to get me there, and  let go of all short term expectations.  

The runners who follow me are wondering, OK but did you get your time!?!?!?  

I had a really strong race. I really enjoyed it. I started off a little fast, knowing that, I still continued onward a little too fast (ha!)  … at half, I was at least 3 minutes ahead of my pace." Well, at least you don't have to go any faster", I thought...but could I hold on to this for another 1h40? In a marathon distance, anything can happen.  “Let’s see how you feel in 10km, then decide what you want to do.” I knew to not make conclusions in a race with so much time left (a bit like life...), and I decided to break the race down into smaller chunks to focus on.

At 32km, with 10 km left, I was still on target, but it was hard (it's meant to be hard)… could I push it for 10 more? But the question was actually, do I want to? How much does it really matter? I don’t need to break myself to run another 3:31…The last 8km, I made the decision to slow way down, and just soak in the last 8km. Rather than clock another 3:31, I ran what I could have considered a disappointing 3:39.

Nothing really went wrong. I did start aggressively. I did battle a stubborn Achilles for the last 6 weeks, that kicked in at 8km and let me know it was there the entire time.  I could have used another 8 weeks of speed training under my belt, and hey, I still have the time to do that. 

Only runners will appreciate this: At the end of the day, I wasn’t clocking a sub 3:30 anyway. I started 3.5 minutes after the start gun, at the back of the pack, counting on chip time, not gun time. They only did gun time for results,  so it was never going to be “on paper”, anyway.

“Who cares? It not being in a computer system on the internet doesn’t mean you didn’t do it.” Stephen is a wise man… point being, it really doesn’t matter, does it? Who are you doing this for?

IPEC Mindset for Sports Psychology

But the most important change to my marathon, has been mindset. It’s changed everything.  The IPEC mindset model makes it really difficult to be truly upset. The thing that kept me going through training and race day wasn't just perspective, but a massively changed narrative going on in my head. Flexibility, trusting the process, ...all these things that are incorporated in the IPEC model, apply to every aspect of life, including running. 

When it comes to specific goals and planning, I like to use the "Safety net" approach. (A net keep you safe from falling into disappointment!) Your Safety Net is for "If all else fails, how do I guarantee a win?"

Goal 1: To run a sub 3:30 marathon.

Plan B focus: To be marathon ready, to run a race feeling strong and both physically and mentally prepared regardless of time, because then I can walk away knowing I gave the best I could with what I had to give that day.  

Safety net: If all else fails, you ran another marathon (your first one in Africa). How is that not a win?

Always create space for a win.

There is a quote that goes something like this:

"It’s not about the result of your race, it's about the person you had to become in order to cross that finish line at all." 

And isn't that the bigger picture? Running gives me fitness, it gives me discipline, determination, structure, alone time, creative time, mental strength, etc, etc, etc...it gave me that for 3.5 months of training. (Was 3.5 months a reasonable training block to aim for a best marathon time from scratch? I mean...maybe, but maybe not?)

The IPEC mindset model has absolutely changed running for me. Truthfully, it’s changed everything important in my life. Letting go of things, how I look at the world, my relationship(s), how I parent, how to be flexible, how to feel like I’m taking control of my life with the full realization that nothing is ever truly in control (ha!).  I’m obsessed with it, and I teach it confidently.  If you actively apply to your life, I stand by it fully.  Because of how much it changed my own life, I’m passionate about sharing it and teaching it others. 

(I teach it in the 12 week course, a condensed version in 6 weeks, and bits and pieces in single sessions, as applicable to your own personal goals.)

If this sounds interesting to you, reach out. 

(When I was a kid, I had performance anxiety when it came to race day...coaches talked about Sport Psychologists and how important they were, but it was a concept used mostly by only professional athletes back then. I can see now, how it could have changed a lot for me! Mindset is everything.)