#MyChicagoMarathon No. 26

Tomorrow, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for charity. Specifically, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. I've been reflecting and writing about my process for deciding to run a marathon, training for a marathon, etc. Linked is the Wakelet where all of my blogs are curated.

THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

I just wanted to use this platform to state my thanks to some specific people and groups of people for preparing me to complete this accomplishment of running 26.2 miles.

Thanks, Amy; I couldn't have done this without you. So I wrote an entire post, #MyChicagoMarathon No. 11, dedicated to my thanks for you.

Thanks, Ryne and Olivia; your my biggest inspiration for doing this.

Thanks, Mom and Dad; explicitly or in-explicitly, the way that each of you raised me has resulted in the character and the values that I exhibit as an adult and allowed me to take-on this challenge.

Thanks, West Branch Football; you, too, helped shape my character and my values...see #MyChicagoMarathon No. 15

Thanks, Mike Humpal; Humpal Chiropractic helped keep my back and my entire body feeling good and ready to go.

Thanks, Van Allen Elementary; the love that I felt from students, staff, and parents throughout this week was unimaginable. It was an amazing feeling to hear all of the words, see all of the signage around our school (see below), and the tunnel...it was great, too! I am thankful to be your leader.

Thanks, Garrett; you invited me to join you for the 'Thorsday' group runs around Lake Macbride. I felt like those runs have been a turning point in re. to my mindset for not just running the marathon, but how I want to run (and finish) the marathon.

Thanks, to my entire Personal Learning Network (PLN); through Voxer, and Twitter, and text, and an occasional face-to-face meeting, you inspire me do and be more. You inspire me to be a better leader, and a better person. You help me to be okay with taking care of myself, first, so that I can take care of others. #FitLeaders, #RunLAP, #BalanceLAP, #JoyfulLeaders, all of you!

Thanks, Action for Healthy Kids; you allowed me to gain entry into the Chicago Marathon, and I got to raise money for an amazing organization.

Thanks, everyone who donated to my cause; it was an amazing feeling to get an email notifying me that various people had made a donation. Knowing that you made an effort to help me is overwhelming in the best possible way. I'm blessed for all of the support that I received. Thank you.

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 25

Revised, November '19

Originally, I wrote this post in the final days (or maybe it was weeks) leading up to the marathon. I shared it a couple of days before the race, but I knew it wasn't finished at that time. I knew that I was going to have to have run the marathon before this post was complete.

I'm kind of a little sad. My marathon training is coming to an end. In the next couple of days, I will have run the marathon. What's going to be next? What can I do to duplicate the feelings that I've had leading up to this. It's been hard work, yes, but it's been amazing to do something that not everyone can and/or is willing to do.

A quick Google search, last week, for "I just ran my first marathon," confirmed that I'm not alone with these feelings and thoughts. In fact, I saw at least one post go as far as to compare the process of running a marathon to that of pregnancy and childbirth! I'm not ready to go that far with a comparison of my feelings, but there are definitely some similarities between the two feats.

Anyways, before I ran the Chicago Marathon, here's what I was considering for what to do next:

• I could run another marathon...I might...I probably will, actually...but there's just something about the first time that makes it special.
  
• I could do an ultra race...never say never...remember, thirteen miles seemed like a long distance until I did it.
  
• I could return to my goal of running a half-marathon in half of the United States...feels kind of underwhelming, though, now.

Fast forward one month after running the Chicago Martahon, here's where I'm at and here's what I'm thinking comes next:

• At approximately mile 18 of the Chicago Marathon, the thought of running another marathon was incomprehensible. However, no more than a couple of hours after crossing the finish line, it became clear that I have a desire to run another marathon. I don't know when it will happen, again, but I feel confident saying that I will run another marathon.
  
• A half-marathon in half of the United States. So far I'm at 7 states, which means I have 18 to go. This is a long-term goal that I feel is within reach. Now that I've run 26.2 miles, 13.1 miles isn't as overwhelming. It's the element of travel that is going to make accomplishing this challenging.
  
• An ultra race. What is an ultra race? Anything longer than 26.2 miles. That's it. That's my new BIG goal. I want to run a 50K (approximately 31 miles) on or around my 40th birthday (in 3.5 years). Better make it a destination 50K; I'm open to suggestions!

Last month, I ran the Chicago Marathon. I've been reflecting and writing about my marathon journey and I've linked all of my posts to this Wakelet where they are curated. THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 24

This week, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for charity. Specifically, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. I've been reflecting and writing about my process for deciding to run a marathon, training for a marathon, etc. Linked is the Wakelet where all of my blogs are curated.

THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

There are a lot of benefits from running a marathon. For me, what is the one benefit that I'm seeking more than any other? I want to be able to show (not just tell) my kids that they can do anything. I want to be able to show them that they can do anything regardless of how challenging and overwhelming it may seem. I want to be able to show them that through commitment and perseverance they can do hard things. It's possible, any of it, all of it.

So I'm super thankful that they're old enough to comprehend that I wake-up before the sun five days a week to run, regardless of the weather. I'm super thankful that they comprehend that once a week I've been gone for quite a long time, recently, on my long runs. And I'm thankful that they'll be in Chicago to see how big of a deal this marathon is. They'll see me struggling, but then they'll also see me finishing.

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 23

This week, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for charity. Specifically, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. I've been reflecting and writing about my process for deciding to run a marathon, training for a marathon, etc. Linked is the Wakelet where all of my blogs are curated.

THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

In exactly one week, I'll be in the corrals ready to run the Chicago Marathon. This post, these posts are my commitment. I plan on running all 26.2 miles of the run. And if/when self-doubt starts to creep into my head, I'll refer back to these words that I've written and shared publicly. I'm using this for accountability purposes. I'm using this for my own mental fuel because I know that I'll need to have a counter the moment that anything negative begins to creep into my head-space.

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 22

This month, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for charity. Specifically, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. I've been reflecting and writing about my process for deciding to run a marathon, training for a marathon, etc. Linked is the Wakelet where all of my blogs are curated.

THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

Training for this marathon has been much more than just an exercise for my physical fitness. It has been an amazing learning journey that I've engaged-in with myself. And my biggest revelation is that training for (and running) a marathon is more mental than it is physical. Yes, there are some physical prerequisites in-order to prepare for and run a marathon. But I believe that the mental barrier is the bigger challenge. Being able to turn-down your inner-voice that wants to tell your body to quit and go do something less challenging and less stressful is a real beast to tame. Being able to tune-out this message when it's just you, your thoughts, and the road for multiple hours is the real challenge of the marathon.

This is a mantra that I've used during my marathon training that has helped me push farther than I previously thought possible.

#MyChicagoMarathon No. 21

This month, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for charity. Specifically, I'm running the Chicago Marathon for Action for Healthy Kids. I've been reflecting and writing about my process for deciding to run a marathon, training for a marathon, etc. Linked is the Wakelet where all of my blogs are curated.

THANKS for following my journey; I am thankful for everyone's support.

Prior to training for the Chicago Marathon. 13.1 miles was the furthest that I've ever ran. I'd train up to 12 miles and then run the 13.1 miles (maybe a dozen different times) as part of a race day event. In my mind (and my legs), 13 miles used to be a pretty big hurdle to go out and run.

But while preparing for my marathon, my training plan had me doing long runs of 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 20 miles! All of a sudden I was interpreting a 13 mile run a little bit differently than I had in the past. You see, everything is overwhelming until you do it. Then once you do it, all of a sudden, it becomes a little bit less overwhelming. And then you do it again and again and again, until it becomes routine.

Last weekend, during the tapering stage of my marathon preparation, my long run dropped back to 13 miles. Funny thing, though, it no longer seemed quite so long.