This One’s For You

For you who struggles with anxiety. For you who often finds it hard to get out of bed in the morning. For you who’s recovered from an eating disorder. For you who’s in the throes of an eating disorder. For you who’s paralyzed by fear. For you who’s simply trying to lead the best life you can and share your light with the world.

I’m running this marathon for you.

For me, running goes far beyond mileage, staying in shape, and hitting PRs. Call me crazy, but running is therapy. It’s also a spiritual experience. Each mile I run (if I’m doing it right) is set with an intention. Meaning, each mile serves it’s purpose.

When I’m pounding the pavement, I’m working through the sometimes tangled mess in my head. I’m taking in the beauty that surrounds me. I’m filling my mind with positive thoughts, and rewiring my brain to push the negative aside. And I’m praying. A lot.

I can’t run this marathon alone. I need each and every one of you.

And you may know I’m a pretty spiritual person, so I want to take you with me on each run, but I also want to take your needs to God – with every single mile.

So, for every mile I run, I will be praying for you and your intentions. I ask that if you’d like me to pray for you or an intention of yours please reach out to me. You don’t have to go into specifics. It can simply be, “Hey Maria, can you pray for me?” or “Hey Maria, can you dedicate a mile to a special intention?” Or, you can go into the whole story. I’m open ears.

And I’m here for you.

Email me at maria@runningmyselftogether.com, comment below, or direct message me on any of my social accounts.

But let me back up a bit…

Did you read my blog post last week? The one where I talk about doing all of those things you’re afraid of doing? I’ve started taking notice of each time I say, “I’m too scared to do that.” I say it more often than I realized, and now I counter it with, “Well, that means I need to do it.”

For years, I’ve been too scared to train for and run a marathon. “26.2 miles? Gross,” was my typical train of thought. But I can’t live life like that anymore.

As you may know from reading my story, and if you don’t know, I struggled with an eating disorder for many, many years. Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing typically reigns true across the board: They zap you of the mental stamina needed to power through each day with positivity and grace. They also fill you with fear.

I don’t live that life anymore – that life of exhaustion and fear – and I’m doing all that I can to continue to not live that life.

I don’t want you to live that life either.

Each week I’ll recap how the week of training has gone – I’m sure with plenty of highs and lows – but we’ll also try to pull the intrinsic value from the week of training. This is to help you in your journey of life and hopefully it’ll inspire someone to lace up their sneaks and pound the pavement. Because running is so much more than PRs. Oh, and one other thing, never let someone tell you it’s not. You’re not just running a race. You’re freaking running a race, and that’s amazing. Own it. Love it. Embrace it.

So here we go.

My Marathon Training Plan

I’m following Hal Higdon’s Novice 2 plan (To the best of my capabilities. Thank you Vanessa from Wholefullyhappy for sending it my way). Rigid plans stress me out typically, so here’s how this week went down:

Sunday – Absolutely, freaking, nothing. And it was glorious, wonderful, and stress inducing all at the same time. I don’t typically lay in bed all day, but to be honest, I was facing some high anxiety. I listened to my body, and I slept. I slept a lot, but it set me up for a pretty successful week of workouts.

Monday – 5 miles

Tuesday – 3 miles, ARC Run Club

Wednesday – 5 miles

Thursday – 45 minute cycle class at the YMCA

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 8 miles

My Shoes

Typically, I’m a Brooks-girl, but at the beginning of this year I was introduced to Saucony, and I ain’t lookin back. I’m in love. Here’s what I’m currently running in, and plan on getting another pair to last me through this training and the marathon.

Saucony Women’s Ride 9 Running Shoe, Navy/Blue/Pink, 8.5 M U

 

And it looks like they’re on sale… and a lot cheaper than what I paid.

My Socks

I swear by Feetures! socks. That’s why I’m an ambassador for them this year. The Feetures! Elite Max Cushion No Show Tab are my absolute favorite. You can purchase them on Amazon or on the Feetures! website.

Is Your iPhone Rooting Your Heart From Being Free?

If there’s one major pet peeve I have, it’s when I’m out and about with friends and we’re all on our phones. Or, even worse, when I’m with one friend and our phones are face up waiting to distract us from the conversation. OR, even even worse, when someone is walking and looking down at their phone, completely oblivious to me running up behind them… or driving behind them and then failing to move, even when I politely say excuse me (both of these instances happened last week).

We’re obsessed with our phones, people, and it’s hindering our ability to think, be creative, and live a life that’s relaxed and not calculated. I read a recent article in which the author explains why our addiction to technology is hindering our abilities to think creatively.

We’re NEVER bored. When we’re standing in line at the grocery story, what do we do? We grab our phones to mindlessly scroll through Instagram. When we’re laying in bed ready to end the day, what do we do? We check our phones one last time. Or, my personal favorite, when we’re watching TV, what do we do? WE’RE ON OUR PHONES AT THE SAME TIME.

That’s why I love running. I bring my phone, and I’m able to take my selfie at the end (because if I don’t take a selfie, did I even run?) and listen to my music, but other than that it’s on silent. And I have so many glorious miles to let my mind wander. To be bored. And to accept the boredom.

Have you ever thought that maybe you don’t like running, because you don’t like being bored?

Let’s be bored together this week. Reach out with your prayer intentions. And let’s run all the miles, because that’s what I’ll be doing until November 11th.

And if you want to run with me, check out ARC Running!