Our Marcothon 2018 wrapped on New Years Eve. Marcothon is a challenge that brings runners from all over the globe together to run 25 minutes or 3 miles every day in December.

We did it!! After learning about Marcothon from a running friend in the UK, Porter and I committed to trying.

Wow! 

It was better and in some ways harder than I had expected. 

We jumped in feet first (haha… see what I did there?) without too much concern. After following running challenges of friends and other runners, they always made it look easy. I never thought about the challenge of staving off the dreaded two I’s… illness and injury during the holidays, in the snow and ice. It’s real… For us (and yes, I know it sounds a little goofy) strategy was what got us over the finish line of that last run on the 31st. It’s all about whatever it takes to get over that finish. (Doesn’t Strategy sound better than luck mixed with a couple good choices? Yikes!)

A little backstory… When I’m running, it looks like 3 days per week mixed with some (times more & sometimes less) strength, stretching, cardio and recovery the rest of the week. Half training adds a day… but 4 days running per week max. Recently, it’s been a little more work and less working out. Oops…

The timing of Marcothon was perfect for me to change my running brain.

I’ll talk about our strategy and the community in future posts. Today it’s about that feeling.

Thirty-one days has me stronger and confident. My focus wasn’t weight, I was hopeful… but it was all about the finish in 2018. While the scale hasn’t changed much, muscles and fit have.

Thirty-one days got me to a really good place… the finish! It wasn’t painless, but you know… Teddy Roosevelt had it spot on that nothing worth doing… There were days where it was for sure the slowest running ever and days where fitting in a run meant some juggling. But in the mix were days where it felt great, days where watching the changes in my body… Ohh so good.

There were many who succumbed to the dreaded I’s… health is non-negotiable.

It was worth the work… the pain…  the time… the journey… for the accomplishment, for the strength, for the health, and yes, for this feeling.