Getting to the Starting Line of a 21-km Marathon 🌞

Three years ago, I tried to be consistent with being physically active to cope with stress in work and graduate school. It was just a way to clear my mind whenever I'd be swamped with deadlines after deadlines. When you run, you get that runner's high, where your body feels a relaxing experience because of endorphins —our brain's feel good neurotransmitter! It was easy at that time because I'd run with my friends, I had a little push and accountability people to encourage me. During early pandemic, I had to do it alone, and early in the morning. At that time, I just know I was good at it. I could join a marathon and sure that I'd be a finisher.

As things went back to normal, it became difficult to maintain that routine. I had to change my workout from running to skipping rope, it was easier for me, since it takes only half an hour and I don't even have to go out. A year passed and just like that, my body was no longer trained to run a marathon, I'm an almost marathon finisher. I didn't like the thought of it, so before the year 2023 started, I was convinced that running a marathon was something I could do and I want to do. But before I brave the real deal, I also want to be kind to myself, and set my goal to run a half-marathon (21-km distance).

There are dozens of training guides to follow when training for a marathon. I even found a 10-week training plan, it was really overwhelming for me given that I am once again a graduate student and co-founding a start-up company at the same time. I also have to factor in the fact that I'm coming from a year without any running activities. I do plan to join a half-marathon by mid of this year to give me enough time to train, with only a little pressure 🤣. I'm sticking with my good things, take time belief.

1st month: Assessment

"What can I do now?" I wanted to answer this question first before I craft my own training plan. I spent the whole month just observing how my body feels when I run. It's a lengthy period so I was also able to reach some milestones, which will serve as my benchmark. This first month was particularly difficult for me because it was cold. As someone who lives in a tropical country, a temperature drop to ~ 26 degrees, is not something I could call a nice weather to run 😅. I am hoping that the next months will have a warmer temperature so it would be easier for my body to warm up.

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I started with just being able to run below 5 km, now I can run up to 7 km distance without stops. I was also able to maintain my pace while increasing my distance reached. I plan to improve my pace and distance one at a time, which I learned from the training guides and blogs I read. I became particular with my cadence stats, because recently, I learned that maintaining a higher cadence rate will reduce the probability of getting injured. I need to lessen the impact on my strides, especially when I have to run a marathon. For this month of February, I hope to reach more milestones that are already aligned with my training plan.

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Aside from keeping stats of how I am doing in the process of reaching my goal, my running activities never fail to remind me that where I am, is always the right place to grow. For the past month, I have seen so many glorious sunsets and skies! I always run on the same route, but I always get a different view of how beautiful the place is. For a very long time, I was in a place where I see myself wanting to be somewhere else, where the grass is greener. But here's a thought, the grass is always greener when you water it ✨.



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