#249 – I Ran My 1st Marathon

So I've asked a few friends around I have some friends who are professional marathon runners and all kinds of other races, and they've done some awesome stuff. So a guy highly recommended, named Hal hidgen came into play for lots of different directions. And so he has a program called novice marathon training. It is 18 weeks training program that includes three short runs during the week. So we would have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Is the short. Runs, and then on a Saturday you do a longer run. And so the skip the schedule starts out like week one, you run three miles, four miles, three miles. And then, like on a Saturday, you run six and it starts to increase every week. And so by the time you do get to week 18, you have completed a lot of running, and the longest distance on this training schedule would have been 20 miles. So, like, that's two weeks before the marathon. So it's like, you've done all of this training, and on the days off, you also do cross training, so that, you know, you're strengthening your entire body. So it's not just, you know, putting in the mileage. But when you do get to run your marathon, you've kind of experienced, right for the most part, what it is to like to run six miles, you know, in the on the long, longer runs 10 miles, 12 miles and so forth. So 20 was kind of the top for us to do. So that sort of set the bar. But more on this, on this later, a couple of other lifestyle adjustments we had to make. I mean, drinking occasional wine or, you know, having just a glass of wine in the evening, have really started to like deteriorate, like the performance the next day. So really had to play with it. We do love wine. We live in California, that is something that I can't, you know, can't get away with without, but it does really dehydrate your body. And so if you're training, you're trying to improve your speed. And really, for me, like it was, it was more around training to how to run, getting my body adjusted to running that many miles, and so I really had to be strategic about it. So that's a win for sure, because then otherwise, you know, what's the point if you're waking up the next morning and you're not 100%

injuries that runners acquire is called IT band syndrome. So it's basically like this band that connects, like the part of a hip to and it goes all the way down on your leg, all the way to, like your knee. And so, so I had to do a few sessions, and she kind of like put me together. Now it really all is due to overusing new hips. I mean, on a good day when I'm not running, or you don't have these huge runs, like, it started to creep up for me when it was like, in the double digits for your for your miles, I'm totally fine. So it's like, you can live with it if you don't have to run long distances. But I wanted to finish this marathon like and this. Was the idea. So I had to do some of that. But I'm sure I'm not the first one that, you know, developed some of they say Yuri had some interesting stories too, with, like, his shoes. He switched, like, three pairs because something was not right. And, I mean, you kind of go through phase with it. Another interesting part two is that a whole family got involved. Like, when you tell people that you're training for marathon, everybody always has this, like, look on their face. They're like, wow. Most people, you know, if you're not a runner, you don't know. You just, you know that it's something big, you know that it takes a long time, but you don't really have a context as to, like, what's involved. How is that all working out. And so as we kind of laid it out for our family, and it took him a little time to sort of for that to sink in, and especially, like, towards the end, where they saw how many months we were running, like on Saturdays, and like most weekends were like, we're not doing anything. We just want to hang out at home and just like, let the body recover. So my dad actually came from Baltimore to wait for us at the finish line. So that was awesome. And so the whole family was there. I mean, we wanted Liam to see all of this. I mean, he's, he's kind of been in it with us. But then, you know, every morning he would wake up and say, how many miles did you run today? So being him at the finish line was the driver for me. I mean, I wanted to finish, and that's, that's who I wanted to see at that finish line. So family, all coming all together, definitely was a big deal. All right. Well, let's talk about what actually happened on a marathon day. So I mentioned it already was in San Francisco, and I was, I mean, I was sure, and I was comfortable because it was in San Francisco and it was summer, and you all heard the story that, and Mark Twain actually had this quote that the coldest summer I've ever spent in my life was in San Francisco. And so that's actually one of the reasons I don't like going there in the summer, because it gets foggy and temperatures like doesn't cross 65 and so I was sure. I checked the weather, everything was fine, and it was starting like that. But little did I know that the universe perhaps had other plans for us. It was a lot of people. It's a big marathon. It was 30,000 people. Now, not everybody started, not everybody did a marathon. I don't actually know the actual breakdowns, but every big race like that has 5k 10k they have half a marathon. They also have kids races, and then they have, you know, people that run actually on on in that race. Marathon was not the biggest they had ultra marathon. How about running two marathons? So, like, 50 some miles, and so that's a lot of people. So for us, it started at 515, in the morning, and we stayed in it. We stayed in San Francisco, right? You know, right next to to where the race was starting, it was actually starting, right? And for those of you who know the area, at the Embarcadero, and so we were kind of heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge, right along the marina, and then kind of climbed up this one hill, and then got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. I mean, there's a lot of people, right? And they literally started sharp at 515 in the morning. And so as you kind of get dressed, and for me too, like one of the things that I learned about myself, like I don't, I don't need to have a lot of clothes on, and it's hard to predict, right? Because you're starting it so early in the morning. You may have your shorts and, you know, t shirt on. But in San Francisco, it was, it was chilly, and it was like almost drizzling with like this, you know, this mist that comes from having a lot of fog around. But we were so excited. I mean, come on, I actually didn't sleep that well the night before, and I knew that was going to happen, because for something like that, I was, I was worried about all kinds of things, not just running, but all of the other stuff that had to come together. So I used Garmin. I mentioned that already, that was the watch. Is still the watch that I use, and it's I found it to be better than Apple Watch, because for so many miles, when you use in a device, it keeps the batteries a lot a lot longer. So we started together, and then just about once we gone through the marina, climbed up. And so right before you get onto the Golden Gate bridge going across towards South Toledo, and like the the Napa Valley in the marine County, there are, there were just like, two very stiff hills and oh my gosh. I mean, we trained to run hills, but it literally just like, cut me to my core. And so I did, I mean, I did fine. We climbed up to the to the top and got on a Golden Gate Bridge. But I started like, I kept looking at my watch. And as I mentioned, like, I wanted to be in the zone too. But I think because there's so many people around, you're just excited, and people are passing you by, and it's like, you feel like you may be not running fast enough. My heart rate was just it was just never like, in the 140 range. So it was creeping up to be like, close to 150 and so I told Yuri, I'm like, and generally he does run faster than that than I do, and that's fine. So I sort of went into expecting that we will separate at some point. And so Golden Gate Bridge for, you know, for the beauty of it and everything you get to see, that's where we kind of like, right, take off, do your thing. And now, you know, just do it on my own. And so that's kind of where, you know, I ended up being on my own, which is fine. I mean, you're still running with a ton of people around you, but it's, it's, it's one of those things. So across the bridge, down into Sausalito, is a little loop, and then they kind of wrapped us around, and then put us back on the bridge, on the opposite direction, and then from there, you went into the city. On the way back on the bridge, it started to get, like, really windy. I don't know why, because I didn't feel that much wind coming across the first time. Maybe the side of the bridge was closer, like, you know, facing the ocean versus, like, the one facing the bay, but it was, it was windy, so like, and I had actually a jacket, a little lighter jacket, on just so that, just in case I had if I was going to be cold, and that was the spot on the bridge where I was, that's where I needed the most. And actually had a little hoodie. Now, one thing I didn't do, because I told you, San Francisco supposed to be cold, supposed to be chilly, supposed to be nice for running like it's a perfect weather. Did not bring a hat, and I didn't need it until certain point. Also in my training schedule, the most miles that we ever did was 20. Like that was the longest run ever. And I saw I knew exactly what it was gonna feel like, you know what? Where all the aches and pains and how much strength I needed and all the fuel I had to have, so 20 was kind of the top and so in your head, right? And this is my rationalization about it is okay, I could run 20 miles like six more at that point. Is nothing, right? But wait to hear what happens once you cross 20 miles and so. Interesting statistic I found about marathoners. First of all, this is only for the US population, but in the side note too, once you kind of start to research this topic, a lot of different ads start to pop up in my like, Instagram feed or on Google. So I started to, you know, read into things and so forth. So the statistic is, is for US population, and only 0.13 of people in us ever ran a marathon. And I was shocked. I mean, I was not trying to, like, you know, myself, and just say, like, here's a big achievement. No, I just, I just didn't realize that, um, why is it so small and interesting, too, that a lot of people that you know, we've shared with friends, most people don't like running. They're like, it's just not a thing. So maybe that's why the statistic is so low, I don't know, but it's just, it was just interesting to me.

how they are impatient and how they just want to get their financial plan done, check the box or ask a specific question and just like get the answer and move on and have expectations of their investments growing overnight, set the goals and never really think about The timeline and hope that overnight, the success will come. But again, this is like a sprint. So if you're thinking, if your mindset is centered around that you really are training for a sprint, which is a very short race, a sprint is like running half a mile at the very, very fast pace, but you aren't going to accomplish a lot, right? And so I want to remind you that our finances are like marathons. We are always training, we're always learning something, we're making money, we're saving, we're spending, we're investing, investing alone like this piece needs time. It needs years, it needs to compound and grow. We also get to enjoy it, you know, pass it on, educate our next generation. So, like, I can't think how we don't view the, you know, the the longevity of our life and our finances as a marathon, because it does take a lot to get there. So the best part of all of all of that is that we should focus on enjoying the process the hardship, right, all the pains that we go through, losing jobs, moving, not saving enough, maybe having debts from time to time, whatever, whatever it is right, whatever the life throws toward us, or maybe having the, you know, the growth and becoming better and improving, because that race is what makes you stronger, is what makes you the very silent that that person that could be experiencing the best. So run the next marathon with me, a financial one. I mean, I will update you on if there's going to be one, one, another one sometime soon, but I invite you to join me running the next marathon of your finances, because that's what it's gonna take my friends. So what's next? I think I'm finally ready to think about what I want to do next, like I have taken some time to kind of digest process, take a break, and I know we have to finish our Bay Area challenge. So we started. So that's like three more races after you know, it does include a marathon, but we don't have to do one for a while, so that's still on hold, but this time around, for physically, right? And for marathon training purposes, I want to focus on training to run faster like I want to improve my. Pace, pace, excuse me, and one day a big goal, right? But again, remind you that unless you have these goals and you're really working towards them, whatever it is running a marathon is saving for a house down payment or going to the next vacation I want to qualify to run for best Boston Marathon. There's, there's my my PACE. PACE is how fast you run a mile. Really has to improve tremendously, like I have to run that marathon that I just ran in half the time. So there's a lot of training that has to happen, but it's a goal, and it's a pretty awesome goal. When is that going to happen? I don't know, but it's it's probably a longer training idea, but what I want for you is to realize that no matter where you are in your financial journey, you can always get on this financial marathon idea and train to become better wherever you are in your life phase, it doesn't matter, because you can always improve, you can always make changes, you can always become better. So that's it, my friends, I know this is longer than typical, and I shared a lot. I'm sure there's other little details or things that I quite forgotten, but as this unfolded for me, I thought it was interesting to share with you. I'd love to hear from you if you've done something like this, or maybe you've done even longer races or some other challenges, physical challenges, in your life, and of course, always share how you do in your finances. Thanks so much for tuning in. Please don't forget to leave me a review. Those mean the world to be those give me inspiration motivation to continue running this marathon with you, and remember you are the bosses of your own money.