After the Kilimanjaro Marathon

The first thing I did after signing up for the marathon 4 weeks ago was to google “Marathon training 4 weeks” and looked for blogs about marathon training over a short period. I did find some, and saw I wasn’t the first one. I hope this blog can be to help for other future runners who wants to run a marathon or a long distance race.

So, it’s time to reflect on the training and running which I have been doing for the past 4 weeks. I decided to run my first ever marathon 30 days before the actual race. Now, after finishing above all expectations at a time 3 hours 8 minutes and 29 seconds, I know that you don’t need 6 months of training to complete a challenging race like a marathon. 

I’ve asked myself some questions:

How did I do it?
I committed to the training and always did my best. If I had decided to run 20km one day, I did so, unless I felt pain/a coming injury. Listening to my body was very important, and not to push too hard when my body wanted some rest. I also did mental training before the race, positive self-talk and visualise the 42 km, gaining my confidence. During my training I got a lot of advice from my brothers who’s done a lot of long distance running (never a marathon though).

Why did I do it?
I knew I would never challenge for the top 10, (which would give me prize money), so Africans here have asked me why I am doing the marathon, and I’ve answered: “because I wanted a challenge”. Running a marathon is getting popular and shows true grit. I have thought about doing a marathon for a long time, and when I read about Kilimanjaro Marathon it was perfect.

How did I feel before the marathon?
I felt ready, but at the same time nervous. The two days’ rest before the run was crucial and I prepared excellent. Having planned everything the two days in Moshi before the run was important for my performance. Even though I wanted to go for a run on Saturday I stayed at my hotel relaxing. At the starting line at 6:30 AM I was focused and mentally & physically very ready.

How did I feel afterwards?
After I crossed the finish line I felt tired, dead tired, but at the same time so happy and like I’d achieved something. I’d been training for this for 4 hard weeks, and the results were above all expectations. I thought it would fight hard to get under 3h 30min, but now I think that maybe if there wasn’t any hills I might have done it below 3 hours?  I feel very proud that I have accomplished the run and I will keep my bib and medal as a memory.

What can we learn from it?
That I had not been running for a very long time (last race was 10 months ago, and I’ve not done any running since then until the day I signed up for the marathon), and suddenly run a marathon in a very respective time tells me that you don’t have to train for 6-12 months for a marathon, but you need to commit. I didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol during my training, I went to bed early and ate/drank as healthy as I could. It was also great to have something to look forward to. 4 weeks ahead was perfect timing, and I forgot about everything else (like it was 4 months until I am leaving Africa). But running a marathon with only 4 weeks of training you will need some sort of solid training background. I’ve always been to the gym several times a week, and having strong legs and core gave me a lot of help.

Can YOU do it?
Can you? Why not? If you commit to it, eat healthy, train smart I don’t see a reason why you can’t. You need some sort of basic fitness, but no one tells you that you have to do it in less than a certain time. A marathon in 5 hours can be a huge achievement for someone who’s never ran before.

Would I do it again?
I told myself this would be the one and only marathon I would run, ever. But if there is a bigger challenge out there, for example 5 marathons in 6 days, then I might sign up for that, just because it’s an extreme challenge. I might train a bit more if I am doing something more challenging than 42 km of running though.