How Yoga helped me Finish the NYC Marathon!
Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!
Four years ago, I remember going out for my early morning 2-3 mile runs and thinking I was the coolest thing on the planet because, I was now one of THOSE people who wake up early and do stuff. In my innocent mind I was now a runner! One day at a work self-development training, the instructor asked us to write down some personal goals we would like to achieve within the near future. At that moment I had no idea what I wanted, so I just listened to other people share theirs.
I listened to the instructor share her story about how her goal was to run a Marathon. She went on to say that she wrote it down, told all her friends so they could hold her accountable, she did the proper training and then she finally ran her first Marathon. I was so impressed and captivated at the fact that she ran a marathon (mind you at this time in my life I had NO idea how many miles a Marathon was nor of what it entailed, other than the fact that it just sounded really cool).
Next thing you know I am writing down my new goal, to run a Marathon. I told the co-worker next to me, because telling someone makes it official and it holds you accountable. Then I wrote how and when I wished to achieve this goal.
It was 2014, I was living in London and I began to do some research on what Marathon races I can sign up for. I quickly found out that you cannot simply sign up to run a Marathon. I applied for a lottery for the London Marathon and had no luck. Then I tried to sign up via a charity and again no luck there. Then I started considering races in other European countries which I could travel to. That is when I tried to sign up for the Rock & Roll Marathon in Spain and yet again no luck there.
A year later I return to the U.S. and move on with my life, forgetting about this "GOAL" that I put out into the universe. I still ran from time to time, but nothing past 4 miles at most. I kept saying to myself that one day I'll run a Marathon.
Two years go by and I volunteer to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity in Bergen County, NJ. Towards the end of day, the project manager, Pam, shows up to say thank you and notices that one of the girls volunteering was wearing a NYC Marathon finisher jacket. She engages the conversation about how she also ran the NYC Marathon and I quickly jumped in and told her about my aspirations to run a Marathon one day. That conversation led to Pam saying “hey, if you’re serious about running, Habitat gets 5 spots every year to the NYC Marathon. I can't register you until January 2017, but I can keep you in mind.”
In no time, January comes around and I officially got the invite to join the Habitat Team and run the NYC Marathon for a cause. I couldn't believe it! I was finally signed up to run a Marathon, and not just any Marathon, but the biggest one in the world!
A couple of months go by and it starts to sink in that I am actually going to run 26.2 miles, and that I have to raise $2,500USD in order to participate! ...WHAT!?? I've never even done a half-marathon let alone a full one!
The official training was supposed to start in June for the November Marathon, but this happened to fall into the same time frame I was immersed into my YTT yoga certification program. Finding the proper time to train and practice yoga daily was a challenge. I would be lying if I said I managed to do both successfully.
Yoga was my priority at the time, so I worked on strengthening my mind and body through Yoga instead of running all the time. A few runners told me that finishing a Marathon is more of a mental battle than a physical one, so I took that idea and ran with it (no pun intended). I began to use the power of mediation and visualization to get me to the finish line. Through my yoga practice I began to feel stronger, more flexible, I had more self-confidence. I truly believed I could achieve anything. After finishing my Yoga intensive, I started to build up my endurance and speed as I had more time to go running. I found it extremely helpful to know how to properly stretch before and after my runs. During my long runs I was able to control my thoughts of any self-doubt and feeling of surrender. I realized that once I hit the bench mark of 10 miles, my physical body kept wanting to give up, but my mind was well exercised and was not giving up. After every long run I would do 15 minutes of recovery yoga, and then 5 to 10 minutes of self-reflection meditation. Let me tell you, that there is no better feeling than what I felt in those moments!
The day of the Marathon I was READY! I was cool, calm and collected. Nervous, but with no doubt in my mind that I could finish this race. The overwhelming joy I felt once I started running and feeling the energy of the crowd, it was so surreal! Like nothing I could have ever imagined. During the race, I laughed, I cried, I fought through physical pain like I have never felt before, but I DID IT! I made it to that finish line with a smile on my face, just like I said I would. I believed in myself and it was the only way that I was able to get by!
Yoga and meditation were key in this process, and all my runner friends were right, running long distance is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. The more you come into your body, your senses, and the present moment, the more you become both a better runner and a better person
NAMASTE!
