10 Life Lessons Learned From Running a Marathon

On Nov 19th 2017, I was awarded this medal for finishing the Brooklyn marathon at Prospect Park. It was my first ever marathon and this medal is by far the biggest achievement of my life as it constantly reminds me of the valuable life lessons that I learned during the training and the final race.

Life Lesson#1 Believe in yourself!

When you decide to run a marathon, you need to have a strong willpower, tenacity and determination. Running a marathon is not easy, it is 26.2 miles (42.1 kms) long and demands an extremely high amount of physical and mental stress. But don’t let that discourage you, believe in yourself, that you can accomplish it and go for it.

Life Lessons#2 Use your time wisely

While practicing for a marathon, I had to manage my time effectively between my personal and professional life. Working as a consultant at a Big 4 company, I was on a typical consultant schedule, flying out of New York every week on Mondays and flying back on Thursdays. I had to utilize my weekdays and weekends efficiently and not let the travel affect my training. Practice runs along with weight training consumed almost 10-15 hours of my time every week. During this period, I learned how to prioritize my work, social activities and the people in my life.

Life Lessons#3 Stretch yourself for extremities

In order to succeed in life it is very important to stretch yourself for extremities and be prepared for the worst. During the practice, there were times when I was running at sub zero temperatures or extremely hot and humid conditions. I suffered from severe body pains, leg cramps and breathlessness. This did not curb my enthusiasm, it just made me stronger, more determined and more confident.

Life Lessons#4 Consistency leads to confidence

During the race, I ran at a very consistent pace and made sure I conserved enough energy to complete the 26.2 mile run. Consistency leads to confidence, and confidence leads to a faster and better run.

Life Lessons#5 Proper planning is the key

Although I had a busy traveling and work schedule I made sure I ran at least 20 miles every week, changed my work-out plan and followed a healthy diet. Last few months were critical to accommodate my 20+ mile long runs and also the taper period in the last few days to give my body sufficient rest to recover.

Life Lessons#6 Set your own targets and don’t compare with the best

During the race, I saw many experienced runners who were much faster than me but that did not demotivate me. I took inspiration from them and continued my race. I knew my strengths and weaknesses and hence I set my own targets and challenged myself constantly. Everyone is at a different stage with different levels of fitness because of the efforts they have put into the training.

Life Lessons#7 Continuous efforts and practice make a man perfect

It took me almost 16 months to develop a marathon-ready body. This included approximately 800 miles of practice runs and six official half marathons. When I started training 16 months prior to the marathon, I found it difficult to run 3 miles but with time, with practice and as I kept adding miles, my endurance just got better. I was able to easily complete a 20 mile run 30 days prior to the actual marathon.

Life Lesson#8 Stay patient during unexpected circumstances

Recovering from an injury can be a frustrating slow process. If you have a swelling or increased pain, it your body’s way of telling you that it’s too much. When I suffered from injuries I stayed patient, gave my body sufficient rest and time to recover and then got back to training.

Life Lesson#9 Your body can do anything, it’s just your brain you have to convince

Along with physical training you have to take care of the mental side of things. It is important to train your mind to achieve the unachievable. Running 26.2 miles was a long journey and it took me 5 hours to complete the race. Running for 5 hours without entertaining your mind is impossible. I tried to deal with this by making my run an interesting experience, listening to energizing music and thinking about those beers that I would get after the finish line.

Life Lesson#10 Plan the finale properly!!

Proper sleep and the right pre-run meal is crucial on the day of the run. Also I equipped myself with enough energy gels that helped me recharge during the run at regular pit stops.

Apart from the life lessons learned, I also realized that the training is the actual marathon and the actual race is just a celebration of all your efforts put in the training.