The other day, my Google photos shared a cherished memory with me: the day I crossed the A1A Marathon finish line on February 15, 2015, my tenth marathon.

Ten years ago, I ran my tenth marathon. That season of my life feels like a lifetime ago.

There once was a time in my life when I was constantly training for a race. You see, when you train for a marathon, you need at least 20 weeks to slowly increase your distance to prepare your body and mind to reach 26.2 miles. Twenty weeks is five months. That’s nearly half a year. So if you run to marathons a year, you are essentially training all year.

And yes, I was once a marathon maniac who ran multiple marathons a year. I do not know where I found the stamina, energy or time to train as much as I did back then.

These days I stick to running 5Ks. Although I do dream of running another marathon someday. I loved the challenge of running 26.2 miles. But more than that, I love what I learned about myself throughout the process of training and running marathons.

Truthfully, running a marathon is a great metaphor for life and everything I learned about myself while training and running marathons can be broken down into ten super valuable lessons.

These ten lessons have carried me through all my marathons and the post-marathon season of my life. In fact, I still live by each of these lessons in my everyday life. 

Ten Lessons I Learned While Running Marathons

Set a goal

Much like any big dream you have in life, it starts with a goal and that goal should be a SMART one: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. So, if running a marathon is your goal, then finishing a marathon makes the goal specific, measurable, achievable (with a plan), and time-bound.

The relevant part of a SMART goal is your why and only you can answer that question. Why do you want to run a marathon? Why do you want achieve any goal? The answer to your why will keep you motivated and committed to the goal.

Have a plan

Whether you’re a beginner runner or a more advanced runner, following a plan is an important component to finishing a marathon. The training plan flushes out the SMART part of your marathon goal by making completing one achievable, measurable, and time-bound. 

Think of your training plan as a map guiding you on your journey. Following a training plan makes running 26.2 manageable by slowing building up the distance each week and allowing for rest days. No matter your needs (run/walk, just crossing the finish line, faster finish time, etc. ), there is a training plan to help you reach your goal.

Expect the unexpected

You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? You can follow the perfect training plan with the best intentions, but inevitably life will happen while you’re busy making plans. 

Babies will get sick. Or, you had a restless sleep which wreaks havoc on your performance. Or, you need to travel for work. Basically, you just never know what will happen, but you need to expect the unexpected and work around it.

When I trained for the A1A marathon, my husband traveled for work leaving me to manage the home and three young ones alone. Then during that same time, my dad suffered a stroke. Life happened. So, I had to squeeze in my training runs whenever I could. Some days, I would split my runs with an hour or so in the morning and another run later in the evening. Whatever it took to get the miles in and time on my feet. I simply made my goals fit into whatever life threw at me and it didn’t stop me from my desired outcome.

Overcoming challenges

Expect the unexpected and expect some obstacles, too. If you have never ran more than a 5K (3.1 miles) before, then you may discover some never before pains as you get further along in the miles. For example, you may learn that you have a nagging IT Band issue. Or, you may have tight calves causing issues with your Achilles tendon which could develop into plantar fasciitis. (I’m speaking from experience here). Or, you may discover your beloved brand of gym shoes that you always wore may not be the best shoes for running long distances.

All of these scenarios are likely challenges you could face. And that’s ok. This is normal as you move towards your goal of finishing a marathon. You simply make adjustments, such as finding the right running shoes for your gait, or remembering to stretch before and after your runs to prevent injury.

Listen to your body

Listening to your body is so critical. (Again, I’m speaking from experience.) So many times I pushed through the pain and caused severe injury. When I mentioned challenges above, I didn’t mean to ignore pain. The pain is an indication that something serious is happening and your body is firing signals to your brain to stop immediately.

Unfortunately, we often let ego or stubbornness get in the way and the results are never good. There’s no point in running a marathon for some bling and a banana if you’re going to be in an orthopedic boot for six months. It’s ok to take the DNF (Did NOT Finish), a bit of disappointment, and a tiny bruise to your ego. Give your body grace and time to heal, regroup and adjust your goal.

Embrace the suck

You know when you’re running that first mile and it just feels awful, like you’re dying, but you keep going? That’s the suck you need to embrace. 

It’s the same when you push through the fatigue in any weight lifting workout. It so suuuuuuuuckkkks sooooo baaad. But you power through it and finish, don’t you? And then how do you feel? You feel amazing! That’s exactly the same dopamine rush you get when you run any race. It sucks at first, but then that runner high kicks in and you accomplished something amazing! You did it!

Sometimes things just suck, but then we power through it and we feel like champions. No matter the pace. No matter the finish time. And you know, even if you didn’t have the best run or finish time, you still did it. 

This is truly the best metaphor for life. Life just sometimes sucks. You lose a job. You lose a loved one. Your marriage falls apart. Your health declines. Then, anxiety and depression creeps in and you spiral. But somehow through all of that, you pull through. You find a new job. The pain of losing a loved one slowly lessens. Somehow, how you turn a corner and you start to feel hopeful again. You power through the suck and do the things. 

Mind over matter

In order to power through the suck, you need to dial in your mindset. There are going to be days when you just don’t want to get up and run. But you do it. You find the motivation and strength to lace up your shoes and seize the day. You give yourself a pep talk and you go.

Running a marathon is an example of physical endurance as well as mental endurance. In order to push through the miles, it takes equal parts of physical and mental strength. While your legs and feet might be doing the physical work, your mind brings the inner strength that keeps you moving forward. When the muscles in your legs begin burning from fatigue, your mind takes over giving you the strength to keep you going.

When I run, I make deals with myself and find objects along the course to use as markers. I tell myself, “Just run to that tree and then take a walking break. You got this!” 

If you made running a marathon your goal, then commit to the vision of finishing one. See yourself crossing the finish line. Hear the emcee calling out your name as the finish passes over your head. Mind over matter to go the distance.

Importance of rest

Any personal trainer or running coach worth their weight in salt will tell you rest is best. It is absolutely critical to build rest days into your training plan. Your body needs time to repair and rebuild after any endurance training or weight training session. 

In addition to rest days, it is essential to sleep at least seven hours. While you sleep, your body is recovering, rebuilding and repairing. Sleep also helps with cognitive function and decreases anxiety and stress. Not getting an adequate amount sleep (between 7-8 hours) can lead to injury or illness.

Sleep is truly the miracle drug for living a healthy lifestyle.

Fueling your body properly

In addition to rest days and sleep, nutrition is key for optimal performance. By fueling your body with lean protein, fruits/vegetables, carbs and some fats, you are nourishing your body with essential minerals and vitamins for peak performance. Proper nutrition will also aid in repairing and rebuilding your muscles on a molecular level. 

Of course, you need to stay hydrated too. So be sure to wash it all down with water (at least eight servings of 8 ounces). 

And on the subject of washing things down, scale back the alcoholic consumption. Drinking alcohol while training is counter productive to your ultimate (relevant/why) goal and it’s just not the best for your body.

I can do hard things

If you can run, you can do hard things. If you can run multiple times a week for 20 weeks, you can do hard things. If you can run for hours, you can do hard things. If you can run 26.2 miles, you can do hard things. And that’s just the marathon side of it! If you can run a marathon while working full time and managing a family, you can do hard things! 

In a nutshell, if you can commit to a goal (any goal) and despite obstacles and challenges, complete the goal, then you can do hard things. Your goal is your hard thing and no one can take that away from you.

I have done hard things and I will continue to do hard things with a decent night sleep, proper nutrition, SMART goal setting and a little mind over matter mixed in, too. 

Have you run a marathon? What lessons did you learn?