This Saturday, I will be running my second marathon of this year the Hartford Marathon. I have trained three of my friends to run the Half Marathon. If you would like to track me you can do so here. The friends who I trained I ran the Iron Horse 10K with them on June 1st on this year. This was there FIRST EVER LONG DISTANCE RACE! This morning I sent them this e-mail as a pep talk:
We are in the home stretch. Now on for my pep talk. In 4 days, you will be able to say “I ran a half marathon”. Mentally I know you must be scared, afraid, and maybe a little bit excited…but in the end I promise you it will all be worth it! If the going gets tough and you are in pain or just mentally tried just tell yourself you can do this, I think I can, I think I can and you will push through that plateau and make it to the end! A half marathon you are thinking…can I really run that far? Well it is 13.1 miles but like my Boston Marathon coach told me he said just think of it as two 10K’s. Keep a goal time in mind and head to that pace group at the starting line…TOGETHER. Do this for yourself and for each other. No matter how slow you are going, you are going to be proud of yourself for accomplishing this task that only 55% of women ages 20 to 39 complete a half marathon in the USA. You will be a part of this demographic.
What is your goal finish time? Will you walk/run or run the whole way through? DO NOT be afraid to walk if you need to. Listen to your body. Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, have protein after you finish to repair your muscles — there is a food tent.
In the end your family, friends, significant others and co-workers will be proud of your accomplishment and you can officially say I AM A HALF MARATHONER. Be sure to wear your medal proud and wear the shirt to that night’s festivities — I WILL BE — remember be proud of your accomplishment.
Any which way, all of you are amazing and I so proud to call all of you my friends.
Looking forward to seeing you all!
Love,
Jess
—-
I got this feedback so far: “Your email was great I needed some inspiration :)”.
—-
Those were the words I needed to run my own race — the marathon! I cannot wait to see these girls at the finish line! Below is a finish line picture from the 10K race: