Brown Pepper Talks

Wow, time flies. We are into the month of August! Since my last post, so many things were on-going. I was handling job applications and preparing for exams. I was also dealing with a breakup and an immediate family health scare took priority. If you want to see my last post, click here. Quite a whammy! What have you all been up to this summer? I hope that your summer has been going well.

Despite my busy schedule, summer has been going well. I have made it flourish to the best of my abilities. In the spring though I was not feeling this mindset. I felt life was challenging. So what did I do? I signed up for a 5 km marathon and 10 km marathon in February. Was this me seeking therapy in the form of endorphins? Wanting a new sense of thrill in my life? Maybe haha.

For a back story, I used to compete in cross-country running competitively throughout school. After completing schooling, running became more of a leisure activity for my mental and cardiovascular health. Since 2022 though, I have not been running as much as I would like. Life got busy and I had to undertake new responsibilities. I felt stagnant and wanted to get back to better running habits. When I saw an ad pop up for a marathon, I thought, why not challenge myself? It was during the middle of February, cold and gloomy. I thought, ‘let me sign up, what do I have to lose?!’.

I started to train indoors in the gym. A few weeks later, a family member of mine had a severe injury and was brought to the emergency room. They were in hospital for almost three months. I got caught in a loop of being a caregiver and finding a balance to train was tough. Finding time for myself was even tougher with an already busy life. Has something like this ever happened to you? It is not easy, but maybe that is how life is (do not quote me on this!).

I am sure many of you feel the pressure to balance it all! Eg. kids, work, marriage, relationships, time alone, hobbies etc. In my mind though, I wanted to do the marathon and put the time in to train. It was a new challenge but also to help lift my spirits from the everyday stress of life. I believe that if we really want something in life, we will make the time. No matter what. Where there is a will there is a way. I started to train indoors in the gym. I trained a few times before it got very busy mid-March till the day of the marathon in mid-May.

I appreciated the support I got from my friends. Even though some thought I was stretching myself a little thin, others thought it was a good stress reliever. And it was very much so the latter. It felt good to run on days I could train. So I thought, why not write about my experience of training.

Can you relate to having crazy hectic schedule? Maybe you find you don’t have time to exercise? You want to start but you feel like you don’t know how? Or how to schedule it in your day? This article is for you.

Tips that helped me start running again:

• Having a goal – once I signed up for my marathon, I set up one day to train each week. I made a plan to try run for 20 minutes for two weeks per session. I slowly worked on my timing. Some weeks I was not able to run. My timing was also quite long! I tried focusing to run 1 km first. Slowly worked my way to 2.2 km. I was taking almost 45 min to complete 2.2 km. Initially, I felt discouraged but told myself to keep trying. I improved my timing slowly. Patience is key if you want to enjoy the process. Having a target goal for your timing during a marathon is important. This is true especially if it is important to you.

• Organizing a day to train – I made this a non-negotiable. Even on days I did not feel like training, I trained. I felt better after I went in to train on those days. On days I could train, I made an effort to push myself to go. On days I could not train, due to handling other things, I took a mental note to make up. Life happens, but there is always another day to try try again! I was also an active caregiver many days. When this happens, what do you do personally? Would love to know. If you see my highlights on my Instagram about my first marathon experience, you will see my struggles. I was finding it difficult to get hours in. But again, for future, I will improve on this immensely.

• Training other muscle groups – despite what you may think, you should not only be running! Training other groups of muscles helps to keep your running form on point. I found doing compound movements, training ankles, glutes, quads in the form of mobility and strength training helped for endurance. Make sure to work on stretching as well!!! To avoid having tight hamstrings!

• Prepping clothes and shoes – this helped me so much! Prepping clothes made me personally feel good. When I practiced with clothes that made me feel good on the outside it made me feel good internally. Which in turn, made me want to run, push and improve my training overall. Having the right gear is also essential! Getting the right shoes and other items helps for training. It also made me feel good mentally. I tried out a running vest from Utobest and got these pair Adidas running shoes from Amazon. I truly loved these shoes!

• Action – I found that more than planning sometimes, actually going out and doing the action to run helped. Some days, from home or outside I changed into my workout clothes, found a trail and trained. Some days, I felt I did not have any energy. When I went out to run though, I felt recharged. On days I felt very tired, I went out to walk.

• Using apps – once I practiced a few times indoors inside I began using an app called Strava. I first got introduced to this app via a friend and am thankful! This is quite a popular app people use for cycling, running, hiking etc.

• Mindset and sleep – training is never easy some days. It is important to remember your why! Find music or podcasts that are uplifting to train with. Making sure you are resting as well really is so so important. For me, this race was breaking a cycle. I am getting sleep for my next marathon. Running training in general also will gain from it!

• Having support – ask friends or family to join? Join a running group? In my case, I asked a few people. Some did not reply back or others could not join me. Either way, this marathon was for myself. Going solo, was kind of scary, not going to lie! But, I supported myself during my training along with the few friends who were cheering for me in the background! I thank you for the friends that were supporting me during that time! In the future, I would like to find a group that goes with my schedule to have support.

• Nutrition for fuel – we can’t train without the proper diet! For running, I found personally that I had to consume high protein and moderate amount of carbohydrates. Everyone’s macros are different so I highly encourage to do research into what works for you. I found using ECAA’s after my sessions of running (working out in general) helps replenish me. I used to carry a tiny bar and took a form of candy before running. An easy way to get some glucose into my system to keep me going for a long run.

Ever since I started applying some of these tips myself, I have felt more encouraged to consistently run! I found my time management a lot better. For those wondering, my family member is much better, recovering from home now. And for those also wondering, I did finish my 5 km marathon! I completed it in 39 min! click here to see my story on it! I had a target to finish my 5 km in 25-30 min but got my period the day before! I have dysmenorrhea and it is quite painful. My 10 km was scheduled the next day. But due to my period pain, lack of sleep and being an immediate caregiver, I decided to complete it virtually. I will be completing it this September or in the beginning of October. Stay tuned to my Instagram. Click here to see if I finish it. It keeps me accountable to get my medal!

Have you ever wanted to start running to try a marathon? I am a beginner to marathons. If this article inspired you to try running, or to return to the hobby of running, let me know. Over the summer, I have used these tips. With someone helping keep me accountable, I have been capable of running once a week since July. It has made me happy to be running again consistently. Which I am really proud of. I wish I ran daily, but that is a work in progress.

Do you have any tips? If you have done longer marathons what are tips you have? If you have family obligations how do you balance your time for running? Let me know!

Have a great month! Happy August and safe running! 😀