My Marathon Journey Part 2
As a nature lover and mountain runner, the idea of running a flat road marathon around the industrial part of the city, alone, was rather hilarious. It was the stark opposite of my comfort zone, but hey, growth never came from comfort zones.
My Marathon Journey
The idea of running a marathon was a huge part of what got me into running. It is the first distance I 'trained' (loosely at least) for, and ever since crossing the line of my first one in 2015 I have been enthralled by the beauty of it. I ran my first one almost entirely with my head, just to prove to myself I could.
Self-Experimentation: Embrace Your Inner Nerd
This is where the term ‘being an N of 1’ comes in. When scientists start an experiment, they require two things; a well-considered hypothesis (what they think will happen on the basis of past evidence) and people to test it on (known as the ‘n’, for number of participants). Being an N of 1 essentially means coming up with a hypothesis that’s personally unique and meaningful for your goals, and testing it properly on yourself. When building a hypothesis, make sure it’s trying to answer something you really want to know and that you genuinely think could benefit you — that way it’s easier to stay motivated and have fun with it.
Acceptance: The best way out is always through
Athletes are taught to “keep the ball rolling” — but when life changes and we no longer know what the ball is rolling towards, keeping it going without taking the time to reassess is to risk moving for months in a direction that won’t do anything other than lead us haphazardly down paths that end nowhere near what we wanted.