02/25/2024
I was looking at some old pictures and I found the first day I started training for the Portland Marathon.
I remember thinking that running a marathon was going to be easy lol
It’s crazy to look back now and think about the journey I’ve been on over the last few years.
(Running multiple marathons and helping hundreds of others do the same)
What’s funny, is this all started as a joke…
I read Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins and in his book he talked about how he ran a hundred miles for a fallen soldier.
And after I read that, I said “If he can run a 100 miles, I can run a marathon lol”
And that joke turned into a thought, and that thought turned into a belief, and that belief turned into an action.
I had no running experience and I didn’t even like to run haha
All I had was a background in sports and a delusional, ‘How hard could it be?’ attitude.
On my first day of training, I couldn’t run a mile.
And for the first few weeks every ended with a side cramp or an injury lol
I remember being about 2 months into my “training” and the farthest I had run was 3 miles lol.
And a friend of mine came up to me all excited and said “I just ran 5 miles. It was my first run since high school.”
I thought to myself, “I’m so f**ked” haha
But since I still had another 7 months to train, I didn’t give up.
I changed up my training plan.
I went from running 5x a week to just 3 while having a focus on lifting weights.
And after that, things started to progress, fast.
3 miles turned to 5, 5 turned to 9 and then shortly after I ran my first half marathon.
(funny story on that, but for a different day)
Everything started to click.
Fast forward a couple more months and I crossed the finish line of the Portland Marathon in 3 hours and 53 minutes.
Looking back, I easily could have quit in the beginning.
One of the reasons I didn’t was because I posted a picture (the one below) on my Instagram to all my friends saying I was going to run the Portland Marathon.
A blessing and a curse I guess…
Anyways, if you are training for your first half or full marathon and you aren't making the progress you thought you would be, don’t quit.
To make it easier for you I put together what I am calling The Marathon Training Starter Kit.
Inside you’ll discover:
- 10 expertly crafted half and full marathon training plans ranging from 8 weeks to 6 months so you can use a plan that's tailored to your fitness levels and goals.
- 3 easy to do strength training workouts with video demonstration so you know exactly what to do even if you have never done it before.
- How to use the same fueling and hydration strategies I use for all my marathons so you can avoid cramping up at the end of your race. Hint: It starts 24 hours before your race.
- How to master the key fundamentals of running that most overlook so you don't waste time and energy on your race.
- Plus so much more like a Couch to 5k plan, a 10k plan, and a Private Facebook Group.
You can grab your copy with the link in bio
“Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you’re done” - David Goggins
Talk tomorrow,
Tony Johnson
