Marathon: My personal journey

 One of my friends, who is awesome, is running his first marathon next weekend. I talked to him yesterday and promised to send him my top 5 or so tips for next weekend. There are more, but this is a quick list. 

1. Enjoy every mile and don't wish the experience away. Throughout my running career, I would run a big race and say "I have 10 miles left"....didn't work as well as I have this fun mile in front of me, "I am going to enjoy this one ahead of me". 

2. Walk through the water stations. Take your time here and enjoy the water. It can get slippery, so be cautious. 

3. Expect things to get off course or difficult. Before the race, you will likely have a plan, and then the race happens. You will struggle, it's part of the joy. Don't sweat it when things don't go as planned. Expect it. 

4. The race is a celebration of you, your training, and the courage it takes to toe the line. There is a reason why it's so challenging, but YOU stepped up, told the world you were going to do this and now you get to celebrate all of it. 

5. Just finish. My good friend Lynn Breithaupt always said, "Finishing a marathon is a mindset." She was so correct. No matter what, just finish the race and enjoy it. You are trained, have fun, and finish! 

To our friend, go out, have fun, say positive things like "when I finish", believe in you, and most of all....take it all in. It's a fun experience that will define you. Enjoy it all! 

Image Source: https://www.musement.com/us/san-francisco/golden-gate-bridge-v/

 I'm excited to start back up with distance training. I will be running the Benefit Classic Half Marathon on September 13th! Over the next couple of months, I will keep you updated on my training progress. Some of the products I'm excited to test, wear, or consume. 

• Tailwind for hydration 
• Ascent Protein Powder for muscle 
• Jocko Greens for nutrition 
• Zensah Compression socks 
• Brooks or Asics this round for training 

 Yesterday, I ran the benefit classic 5K in Dubuque with Nile. We challenged each other to use our Garmin watches and the Garmin training app. I must say the results were fantastic. Nile came in 1st in his age group and I came in 3rd in my age group. I beat my time goal by 5 minutes. A few things to share with you about this journey:

1. Nile had me go through his pre-race stretching for cross country, it was awesome! 

2. We prayed by the war memorial in Dubuque. It was an incredibly grounding experience to stand above the tile dedicated to my father-in-law, Willis Christ (a.k.a. Biffy). He earned a purple heart and I could feel his presence with us. We looked at all the names and offered up positive thoughts for the families of the fallen soldiers. 

3. We ran a great race. Nile torched it and beat my finishing time by over 10 minutes. Nile has turned into a fantastic distance runner and I was so happy the entire race. I dedicated this race to Fletcher, who is related to Roy Higgins III (I know him as Higginized). Fletcher passed away recently. I have never met Roy, but his son plays for the Iowa Hawkeyes. I feel a special connection with Roy through Twitter. He has similar energy and I love his positivity. Roy is a great example of a husband and father. 

4. During my training, I only missed one training run. This was the key to my race result. Garmin's training program is EXCELLENT! 

5. There was a young lady who was in 6th grade. She finished the race and displayed a ton of courage. She was crying at the end of the race. She is an inspiration! My son talked to her about being in the same exact spot years ago. He said "stick with it, train for the next one even more and you will enjoy so much success". 

Great lesson. Thank you for the gift of running. Thank you for taking the time to read this! To Curt and all of the amazing Mississippi Valley Runners Association volunteers, THANK YOU!  To all who sponsored the race, THANK YOU! 

 A few weeks ago, I had a familiar exchange with an acquaintance. Running brings me joy and a sense of accomplishment, most of the time. My physical appearance is not like the typical runner. That doesn't define me. I have been fortunate to finish 8 marathons. 

My old friend asked me this: are you still running? 

Me: Yes!

Old friend: can you imagine running a full marathon? 

Me: Yes, I have run 8. 

Old friend: Really? Are you sure? 

Me: I am sure of it, started running over 12 years ago. It brings me a ton of joy. 

Old friend: But what about your back and knees? 

Me: What about them? They have never been better and did I tell you that I just turned 50. 

Old friend: Huh, I thought with your weight that it would be impossible to run that far and for that long. 

Interesting to say the least. One lesson here, don't judge a book by its cover. Heavy people run. They can have fun doing it. They can be successful too. They can experience joy of the run. 

This was marathon #6. Pure joy. 

See you at the finish line. My goal is to finish 10 full marathons. They are grueling. They teach you so many things. They beat you up mentally and physically. They teach you how to experience joy. 

Don't let anyone ever steal it from you. :)