Lessons learned from running 4 half marathons and 1 full marathon in 6 weeks
Limits are in mind. To realize your full potential, we have to continuously challenge them,
Circa. 2011, I was not a runner. I joined marathon training because I wanted to lose some weight. I got deeper into training; I realized that weight loss was not a challenging enough goal to put myself through that pain.
So I changed the goal from participating in a half marathon to finishing one. Then I decided to finish one in under 2 hours. Then I updated it to finish it as fast as possible. But if I only ran a one-half marathon, that would be the best time. How would I know if I could do it better?
I signed up for four half-marathons. While I was doing that, I realized that running half marathons was not a big enough challenge, so I signed up for a full marathon as well.
At the time, I did not realize that all these marathons are within six weeks period, i.e., four half-marathons, a 1-week break, and then a full marathon. All runs were on Saturday.
I switched my training to train for a full marathon. I was running half marathons in training. So I wasn't afraid of the four back-to-back half-marathons challenge. I was worried about hitting the wall on the full marathon.
The month came, and I ran one half-marathon after another. My time improved from 1:55:00 to 1:36:42 over four weeks. With that success under the belt, I upgraded my goal to finish a full marathon in under 5 hours.
On week 6, I ran the full marathon. It was hot, humid, and crowded. I ran out of water, water stations ran out of water, I cramped/limped/dragged/ITB'ed myself from mile 18-22. The clock was ticking, and finishing under 5 hours was not going to happen. Not finishing was a very real scenario. But I was determined to finish it even if I have to crawl across the finish line. I don't know why but I was.
At 5:22:16, I crossed the finish line. I wasn't alone. Many friends and running partners motivated me, ran with me, supported me, and cheered as I crossed the finish line. I am grateful for all of them.
When I finally made it to my bed with swollen feet, a tired body, and an exhausted mind, I had a chance to reflect.
I realized that I wasn't aware of my limits and wouldn't have known them until I pushed myself way beyond what I thought was possible. I went from participating in a half-marathon to running four half- and one full marathon in six weeks. If I had started with that as a goal, I would NOT have signed up for it. But I changed it incrementally.
The lesson I take from this story is that it's ok not to set high enough goals when we start, but we should keep pushing our limits; otherwise, we may not realize our full potential.
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