1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Be careful what you don\u2019t wish for\u2026\u00a0I\u2019ve learned to notice when people say \u201cI would never\u2026\u201d or \u201cI have no interest in\u2026\u201d.\u00a0It often means \u201cI would love to\u2026\u201d. \u00a0So how come I believed myself when I proclaimed for years that running a marathon was a bad idea?\u00a0Bad for the knees and hips. \u00a0And yet, at a year-end goal-setting session led by my colleague Daire Coffey, who had drawn a series of empty picture frames on a flipchart page, asked \u201cwhat pictures would you like to see in your gallery at the end of next year?\u201d a picture of me crossing the finishing line of the Dublin City Marathon leapt into my head. \u00a0Head up, smiling, emotional.\u00a0And it made perfect sense.\u00a0I\u2019ve always wanted to run a marathon.<\/p>\n
2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The power of words.\u00a0In my 20s, I ran the Brussels 20K five years in a row.\u00a0Trained for about six weeks before.\u00a0Idle for the next 46 weeks.\u00a0No problem.\u00a0The Marathon was not going to be that easy.\u00a0One day I wrote down \u201cI need to train for this in a disciplined and determined way\u201d (discipline and determination being slightly alien for me).\u00a0I drew on those words when the going got tough.<\/p>\n
3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Power of Self Talk. \u00a0I do a lot of my running on Inishbofin, Co. Galway.\u00a0A hard place to run \u2013 not just because of the hills, but because the beauty of the place continues to take my breath away and all I want to do is stop and admire it.\u00a0From the East End, I generally run up the high road, across the North Beach, turn left along Lough Bofin and then home by the Low Road \u2013 about 9K.\u00a0And then one day I turned right after the North Beach and ran right out around Westquarter Mountain.\u00a0When the going gets tough, I remember \u201cI\u2019m the girl who turned right at the North Beach\u201d.<\/p>\n
4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ignorance is Bliss (sometimes). My sister Anna (who competes in Ironman Triathlons) asked me how long I reckoned the Marathon would take me.\u00a0I told her \u201cI\u2019ll be happy with 4 \u00bd hours\u201d.\u00a0She nodded kindly, avoiding eye contact.\u00a0And so, having once run 16 miles in advance of the race, I stood at the 4.30 balloon.\u00a0They ran ahead.\u00a0Then the 4.45s passed me, next the 5.00s.\u00a0There are no more balloons after that \u2013 you\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n
5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t believe all they tell you \u2013 you can\u2019t run alone, you have to join a club, you need a special watch, a special diet\u2026Probably all great advice \u2013 but I took none of it<\/p>\n
6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Goals are important: I thought that my main goal was to complete the marathon.\u00a0On the day, as I saw people walking after a few miles \u00a0it became clear to me that my main goal was to RUN the marathon. \u00a0So I ran all the way \u2013 so slowly at the end, that the walkers passed me out.\u00a0But I RAN it \u2013 and I\u2019m proud of that.<\/p>\n
7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The importance of support:\u00a0Family and friends turned out at strategic spots on the road and they put a pep in my step.\u00a0A friend ran the last eight miles with me: thank you John Church<\/p>\n
8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Behaviour or identity?\u00a0Up to October 29th I was someone running the marathon.\u00a0On November 5th, when I signed up for the following year\u2019s marathon, I became, in my own head at least, \u201ca marathon runner\u201d.\u00a0I keep hoping that I\u2019ll be at something someday (somewhere) when someone asks \u2018can all the marathon runners come to the top of the room\u2019 or some such.\u00a0Well, it\u2019s as good a way as any of dividing a group.\u00a0(honest disclosure: I haven\u2019t yet run another marathon)<\/p>\n
9)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Celebrating is important.\u00a0My medal hangs on the bedpost (where else?).\u00a0A gentle reminder of an achievement I never thought I would have<\/p>\n
10)\u00a0Never promise 10 things when you only have nine<\/p>\n
So\u2026 did I finish head up, smiling, emotional?\u00a0Well \u2013 I was surprised at how emotional starting was (the emotion being fear).\u00a0 Finishing was surreal \u2013 like being in a slow-motion film with wavy, wonky sounds.\u00a0Time\u00a05.34.04. Injuries: one blister on the right toe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"