13.1 Lessons From The Month of Many Mini Marathons

I decided to run a half or a full every month for a year. That's the story of this blog and for (my) year 29, it's been the story of me. But what started out as an addition to my world has morphed into becoming the whole of my world. My days and weeks revolve around my races. And that's fine, but February taught me a few things I didn't know about myself and confirmed some I had suspicions on.

13.1 Lessons From The Month of Many Mini Marathons

1) I can handle an infinitely detailed schedule. That wasn't always the case. I used to get stressed when I had more than 3 things a day. Now I can go weeks at a time with sleep as the only in-between and come out fine on the other end.

2) I can keep up with racing, traveling for races, training clients, writing articles for the newspaper, teaching classes, playing nanny to some really great kids, house and dog sitting, reading 2.5 books a week, and a blog all at once. I used to be able to put off a blog update for a month. ...I had until the next race. February taught me to get it done within days of an event, as 100 hits a day will fade if you aren't writing frequently enough.

3) I can check into a hotel by myself. Laugh if you want, but it's something I've always hated, along with finding my way through an unknown city. It wasn't being alone; hotels and cities were just such grown up things and I hated being the grown up. Now, no problem. To some extent I have Kiwi and Otto (my gps, get it? Auto... Otto...) to thank for this, but these fears are no longer an issue. I can get to packet pick ups and hotels and go site seeing and anything else. I may not be the most confident, but it's a huge improvement from just a few years ago.

4) I can run any race. Cold (Tybee), unexpected terrain (Hilton Head), a different style (Daytona), or coming back after feeling unnerved by an earlier hard race combined with difficult terrain (Augusta). It isn't hard to stretch "I can run any race" into "I can handle any unforeseen."

5) I can see past the immediate to the long term goal. Sitting in the car waiting to run Augusta and the long drive back from Daytona both gave me dangerous time to feel the physical and mental stress of what I was doing. The long miles running, the long miles driving, the extreme temperatures. These took a mental toll that came out as "I don't want to do this." But a littler voice, slightly Kiwi-like reminded me, "You're tired. You DO want to do this, and you can rest after... with your medals and new stories."

6) A perfect race is not limited to a PR. Tybee was a course PR. I've fought this course for 3 years now. That was a hard-earned victory. Hilton Head gave me a bridge when I didn't expect one. That sent me flying to my new overall PR. Daytona showed me I can race without competing, even with myself. That you have to enjoy the journey. And Augusta taught me I can finish anything I set out to accomplish. Just commit to see it through to the end. That whole "they don't move the finish line" thing.

7) Anything becomes normal when you do it enough. 3 years ago I was running 5ks every weekend. This month it was 13.1 miles. But my body adjusted. Some weeks I ran in between, others I didn't; just the same as before. And you know what? Every weekend, my legs just kind of got it. "Today is long day." It became my normal.

8) I can live out of a suitcase. When I left Saturday morning for Daytona, I wasn't home again until the Sunday after Augusta. It has been a long time since I've kept pace with life while living out of a suitcase.

9) The fastest runners in the world run exactly the same as the slowest. One foot in front of the other. And on race day, those two groups cover the same distance. They are exactly the same. ...there's a moral in there, but for now; we'll leave it with those poetic undertones.

10) I can To-Do List like no one else. If it's on paper, I can make it happen. Period. If I have coffee and Kiwi, it happens even quicker.

11) Completing 4 half marathons in 23 days makes me eligible for membership in the Half Fanatics at Jupiter (4 moon) Level, & I have already received an invitation. It also makes me (and Kiwi) eligible for our once a month Treat. ...we haven't decided what the Treat will be, but we earned it!

12) That while I would opt out of social media, I can manage Twitter (@TheKashaShow) and even a facebook fan page and keep them up-to-date with a-race-a-week and fitness tips and Kiwi commentary.

13) I can run 13.1 miles on Sunday, drive 3-4 hours, and teach a fully interactive kettle bell strength training class on Monday with no one able to tell I'm already at my physical limit. Because by the second week; my body had adjusted.

.1) 6 half marathons, 1 full marathon, 1 ultra, and we've just finished month 5. Originally; I would have raced 235.8 miles this year. But we're already at 135.8. That leaves 4 fulls and 3 halves to go, assuming we stick to the plan.

Finish Chute) Why stick to the plan when we can keep making it better?