Friday, February 24, 2012

O.M.G. I DID IT!! Marine Corps Marathon, here I come!!!

On October 28, 2012, I'll be here.....!!!!!!!

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Ok, maybe not right there up front, more like a mile back behind all those runners, but I DID IT!!  I just officially signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon for Team Lung Love!  I am raising $1,000 for the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) in memory of my mom whom I lost to lung cancer 3 years ago.  She never smoked a cigarette in her life.  I don't have my fundraising page set up yet, but I couldn't help but share this right away because "OMG, OMG, OMG" is all I could say after hitting that "submit" button on LCA's page and making it official.

Running a full marathon is a dream for me, that's both scary and exciting.  I had been so scared about getting hurt during training, about not being able to finish, about the intimidating distance, that I thought I would be sick to my stomach after signing up - and wonder what the heck I got myself into.  Didn't I feel the same way when I signed up for my first half marathon?  But I did it, I survived the half marathon distance!  What's another....13.1 miles, right??!  ;)

So after getting the green light from my doc this morning, getting The Hubs' many blessings and support (gosh I love him so much), and getting all the info I needed from LCA, I realized that I have nothing to be scared about.  As long as I train smart, follow a training plan, listen to my body, know that I have the support of my family and friends, I know that in 8 months I CAN do 26.2 miles.  I just need to believe.  Right??!  ;)

Do you remember your first full marathon?  Which one was it and if you could do it all over again, what one (or two) advice would you give me?  Thank you!


6 comments:

  1. How very exciting!!! Congratulations!

    My first was the Savannah Rock n Roll a whopping 3.5 months ago ;) What helped me the most was putting a big training schedule up on my fridge. Every time I went in the kitchen, I was reminded of my goal and could see how long I had left.

    Also, don't think about the distance. Yes, 26.2 is a loooooong way, but you work your way there. With each long run, I gained confidence for my next long run, i.e., I ran 13 this week, so I can do 15 next week. I did 16 this week, so I know I can do 18 next week. And before you know it, the 20 mile run isn't so scary anymore.

    But most importantly, enjoy the journey!!

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    1. Thanks, Danielle! Great tip on putting the plan on the fridge - that way The Hubs can see what I've got planned that week too!

      I'll keep that in mind - think of the marathon training in chunks, celebrate each new distance as I train. I can see how that can be less intimidating! Thanks so much!!!

      Congrats on your first full not so long ago. I'm going to look for your race recap for motivation! THanks!

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  2. So exciting! Congratulations!

    I highly recommend the Jeff Galloway marathon training plan! Zoe and I used it and we had a very fun first marathon last year. :)

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    1. Kerrie, Thanks! Did you do the run/walk method? I'm considering his training plan, actually! Thanks! :)

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  3. Congratulations!!!!!! It's both exciting and scary, isn't it? But you can do it! I used the Smartcoach plan from the Runners world website at the recommendation of a veteran runner friend and what i do is print off a moderate and a hard plan: one has a 3 day a week plan and one has a 4 or 5 day a week running plan. This allowed me to adjust my weeks running based on what life and work threw at me! As long as I got in my 3 runs from the one plan I knew I was ok. If I had extra time I added in other runs from the more aggressive plan. It worked for me, because I finished my first marathon in October and loved every soggy minute of it!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, it is scary and exciting! I appreciate the encouragement, thank you! I will look into that Smartcoach plan. I like plans that are flexible. I would love to read your first marathon recap. Congratulations! Again, thanks so much for the tips! :)

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