We all know Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Glenda the Good Witch told her to “follow the yellow brick road” which Dorothy did for the most part with a few detours along the way. After surviving the wicked witch , the flying monkeys and picking up a few hitchhikers along the way ( the know it all, the drama queen, and the emotional one) she finally made it to Oz.
And then, after all that, Glenda the Good Witch informed her she had the power all along to go home again. I often wonder if they edited out the part where Dorothy says:
“That would have been good info to have BEFORE the flying monkeys!!”
Glenda the Good Witch was right of course. We all have the power and wisdom within us to do what we know to be the “best” thing for us.
In the spirit of true confessions I will admit that I have often disregarded my inner wisdom because what it was telling me to do was not popular, in style or often done. I will also confess that most of those decisions weren’t my best.
The best decisions came from my Gut, that all knowing place that told me it was what was best for me.
One of those was marrying my husband despite the fact that during our dating relationship we had not spent more than 4 consecutive days together in our less than 2 years of dating. Three children, 5 grandchildren and 32 years later I am so glad I trusted my Gut !
If you have read this far you are probably wondering what this has to do with triathlons, marathons or life in general.
By the way..notice this falling on Monday so it IS a Monday Marathon post.
The good news is I am officially registered for the Marine Corps Marathon! Registration opened at noon on Feb 23rd and I was registered by 12:05. Good thing too because the race filled in record time.
The trusting my Gut part comes as I train for my first marathon. I have done 5ks, 8ks, 10ks and 2 half marathons so training for a race is not unfamiliar territory. Yet this one is different. My Gut tells me there is no wiggle room in the training, no cliffs notes, no all nighters, no cramming the training in a ridiculous short amount of time.
And my Gut is right. My inner procrastinator must take a permanent hike, never to be seen again ( at least in regards to my running)
My Gut is also telling me to train smart and run smart. Enter a gem of a book I found called ” Marathoning for Mortals”. Unlike most running books it is written with humor, honesty and real life examples of what not to do.
I have been run/walking in my training so far. Running 3 minutes, walking 1 minute, repeat. A good way to get back into it after several setbacks this fall and winter. My original plan was to progress towards all running. Maybe not.
The “MM” book has 4 training plans and one is the run/walk for marathons. Really??? I mean really??
Can I get past the “shoulds” or what people will think if I run/walk this marathon? No decisions yet..possibilities , options but no final decisions. Still having conversations with my Gut and my body, which sometimes says “enough already”!
Where is Glenda when you need her? Oh and does anyone know where I can get a pair of ruby running shoes?? Stay tuned!
