I have a confession to make: the last two months I had a huge problem with regular running. Although I was staying at home and did not travel I found it very hard to motivate myself and keep running routine. Here is a short post on how to deal with running routine crisis. I’m sharing with you the process of how I did it so you could benefit out of my struggle. Excuse 1 First, it was about the weather conditions. The temperature near freezing, strong wind and often rain slash snow discouraged me. I used the poor weather as an excuse for not running. I don’t know where do you normally run but this is quite popular to use this excuse. To overcome it I bought winter running outfit so I had no more excuses, or so I thought. Tip 1 The Norwegians say that ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes’ and this is so true! The moment I bought long trousers and warm jacket this problem has disappeared. Before I bought it I considered it to be expensive but this is not true. You can buy relatively cheap winter outfit in big supermarkets. I bought mine for less than 20 EUR (trousers, sweatshirt, and hat). Thus, I thought the problem is over. But it was not. Excuse 2 I had a proper outfit and thought I dealt with an issue but this was not the end of my struggle. I used the second most popular excuse: I feel so weak I can’t run. Even short runs made me feel awful. I felt drained out and had no pleasure whatsoever. I run sporadically after forcing myself with all my motivation only to prove to myself that this is such a rotten idea! Tip 2 When you find running too difficult drop it for a week or two. Yes, I actually advise stopping runs for a while. It is normal to feel weak from time to time due to the seasons’ change, different diet or million other things it is OK to drop this activity for a while and there is a reason behind it. First to give your body time to adjust, second to treat yourself with love and third to keep the healthy attitude. My mistake was I was forcing myself to run harder and I did not listen to my body. This was wrong! Excuse 3 “There are so many things I need to do I have no time for running”. Now this is a classic. Too often we use this excuse in a variety of situation but it is especially popular in cases of physical activities. They tend to keep falling down on our lists of priorities and get occasionally back at the top when we ate too much and celebrated too long. Tip 3 There is only one remedy to overuse of this excuse: you need to be honest with yourself and say it clearly that running is important in your daily routine and you are keeping it one of the top three priorities. What matters is that this is not a one-time thing. You need to keep repeating it from time to time, and what’s even more important, when you fail in doing it you have to go back to the roots and start over again. Best advice So there I was, struggling with these three excuses with no real effect and yesterday I went for a long lonely run. I stepped back and decided that I should focus on what dragged me to running in the first place. I remembered this was a pleasure, feeling of total freedom and the contact with nature. Thus, yesterday I run 11K with no time pressure, no average pace control, enjoying the spring that came, listening to the birds and consciously focusing on the present. You know what? The weather yesterday was awful. It was around +7C, it was raining and there was a strong north wind and I enjoyed every second of my run. Why? Cause I was focused on how enjoyable it was, how well I listened to my body, how I controlled my breathing and how beautiful the world is. It was quite clear to me that the real power of a man is to control himself. I tend to realize this truth every now and then and I find it deeply inspiring. How do you deal with the similar crisis? Do you have a good method to share with other runners? Let’s keep strong and share the tips to stay focused and motivated!  

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Ladies and gentlemen! From now on I am officially a marathon runner! I made it. I completed the full distance of 42 km 195 meters. Running (sort of). And here is how I did it. Good Start As you well remember I completed a half – marathon last June. I continued the training throughout the summer and was pretty well prepared before the main run. On Sunday, October 12, I was at the starting line of the 15th Poznań Marathon. The excitement just before the start was all over the place. Over 7,000 runners were squeezed in one of the main streets of the city. Every participant had a number on his T-shirt and smile on his face. Some runners were already running well before the official beginning, warming up, laying down, drinking water, covering their body with a plastic bag (I was told it was a good way to warm up), listening to the music, discussing strategy with a stranger: it looked like a huge and very busy crowd. Finally, the race began. It took me almost 5 minutes to even cross a start line! Slowly, the street was less and less crowded and each of runners could find a space and rhythm. At 6th kilometer there was a very attractive thing to do: we all run across the football stadium! First 10 km were just fine. Until a well known to all runners guest came: Mr Crisis. Crisis It is still not clear to me what mistake I made. I suddenly realized how hard I was breathing, I couldn’t find my favorite pace and before 14th kilometer started I felt completely exhausted. The music on my mp3 didn’t do any good and I felt confused and angry. It was so bad I thought about quitting.  For next 10 kilometers! A real struggle. Eventually, I switched the music off and using my recent experience from camino I focused on the nearest kilometer. 6 minutes and 40 seconds, 1000 meters – this was a distance I was able to focus on. And it finally helped me to find my pace. Until another well known element of each long distance run occurred: pain. I’m Turning Into Pain… la, la, la. After crossing the important point of 21km, which is half of the marathon distance and before reaching another important milestone of 30 km my joints and muscles were hurting quite badly. I stopped once to get help from medic he was kind enough to spray my knees and kill the pain. For a while, at least. What a relief! Slowly, however, every inch of my body hurt. And it was even worse when I stopped! So the only way to deal with this pain was to continue the run!  By the time of half distance all runners were helping each other: positives messages were flying around. “You can do it! It’s not that far! The finish line is just around the corner.” And my favorite banner carried by the fans was saying: “And you could have chosen chess!“. Well, I could have but I didn’t. And so I was running. I had two amazing men with me: my husband and my dad. At some point their encouragement was the only thing I could stick to. We run this marathon together and this was a real team work. Nicely done, boys! Finish Line After over 5 hours I finally crossed a finish line. I was crying like a baby out of joy I finally made it! The mixture of exhaustion, proud, joy, excitement, surprise and satisfaction was fantastic! There is nothing in this world to be compared with the emotion of crossing a finish line of your first marathon run! The very same day I could hardly walk. The day after was similar. But after 48h I was feeling great again. So what am I going to do now is to run a marathon in 2015! You didn’t have any doubts, did you? Marathon. The Real One! A conclusion of my marathon story was epic: 10 days after I completed my first ever marathon I went to Greece. To a small village called Marathon, to be precise. It is situated about 40 km from Athens and it is a mythical place of a great battle between Greeks and Persians. I went to Marathon with an Association of  Licensed Tourist Guides kindly arranged by the Tbex team. This was a guided tour that took us first to the Marathon battle fields, then to the Marathon Museum and eventually to the beach and very tasty lunch. The weather was excellent and we had a lovely time. The Battle of Marathon was a historical event but it became later a theme for various myths and legends. Apart of its military importance and crucial role in defending Athens Marathon is especially known for a legend of Pheidippides. He is said to have run from Marathon to Athens in full military outfit to share the news about the Athenian victory. Just as all marathon runners I was aware of this exhausting run ended with death of the runner but it was new to me to know that he run in with full equipment which, at that time, was heavy and very uncomfortable. He run with his shield which was extremely heavy not to be seen from a distance and not to be considered a coward. In order to fulfill his duty he run in extreme heat with full armament. Although there are two legends mixed here and nothing is certain thinking about it is uplifting. Human bravery, dedication and determination is something that touches me deeply. And as a marathon runner I know more about than I used to. Jenny who was with me and who recently completed 4 marathons described the story in profound so if you are interested in hearing more about Battle for Marathon click here.  

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