I was a Half Marathon Virgin…

That was until Sunday the 10th of September, when in the burning sun all my training and injury scares were put to the test and I had difficult choices to make.

I went in thinking my greatest considerations would be whether I could dip under 2 hours if all the stars aligned and my body felt fine.

As the race unfolded it became clear that the bigger consideration was what it would take to even get to finish the race.

I was running on behalf of Charity Water and all the people they were poised to deliver clean drinking water to across the globe. This was much bigger than me. I was carrying the promise of true life transformation with my every stride.

The half marathon (21K) was my next level stretch from my maiden 10K race in July (see link in comments to read my Poetricity series about that journey).

Going into the race there were several things that I had to do differently based on the level of challenge that a 21k race presented, this included:

1. Following a structured training plan

2. Contending with injuries during training

3. Seeking the help of several professionals to aid my prognosis and recovery

4. Learning about my body and how it worked

5. Undergoing a full body detox (incidental)

6. Having proper guidance on proper nutrition and hydration for race day

I will be sharing a series of poetic reflections about the lessons I learned while losing my half-marathon virginity.

If you want to know how the race went, then do stay and follow the series. It is my hope that it will inspire you to reach for your own next-level stretch goals and realise you can do it.

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Stay

By Frank Bolaji Irawo

Change this, move that

Make me feel good now

Leave me alone

Ok as I am

As long as everything

Stays as the ego wants it

At least for now, that is

All this happening

To show you that what you

Have been avoiding

None of it can break you

If only you would stay

Long enough

And let experience

Show you

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What have you been avoiding?

What have you overcome in the past that you thought would break you?

I am not referring to the muscle stretches done before a run to warm them up and get them loose and ready for the run ahead.

I am talking about setting new goals that require you to step out of your current comfort zone. Like me signing up to my first 10k race never having run further than 5.8K before.

It is almost impossible to predict the limits of what a human being can achieve as we are designed to adapt to deal with whatever challenges are placed before us.

There is a bias towards the body operating at maximum efficiency by only expanding capabilities when it has evidence that it is actually required on a regular basis.

To push the growth agenda and expand your capabilities, set your sights on new horizons and see what happens.

Human design

By Frank Bolaji Irawo

Sat on the couch

I waited and waited

When will they grow

Muscles that bulge

Make knees weaken

The horse now puzzled

By the cart before it

Turns out nature expands

Based on increasing demands

Time to venture

Out of the comfort zone

Yes you can wait

And then wait some more

Bigger muscles come

From stretching these

To the point where

Only new ones will do

At the junction

Where means, motive

And opportunity meet

There is the chance

For the capacity to grow

That is the wisdom

Of human design

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What was once a stretch goal but is now well within your comfort zone?

What could you do to stretch yourself there or in another area?

Today is the last chance for anyone so inclined to give to the Charity Water fundraising campaign which has raised over £1300 so far! (Giving link In the Comments Section Below)

I am proud of my efforts in raising funds for Charity Water. Providing clean water to those who need it is close to my heart having experienced firsthand what it is like to spend hours travelling back and forth on foot to get some.

Stretching myself to running a half marathon from a 10k in two months required following a rigorous training schedule as much as possible. Not easy for a rebel at heart.

Training had been going well, that is until I damaged my Achilles and strained my hamstring. I had to stop training and visit a specialist. Needless to say, things were not going to plan and time was not on my side.

I persisted and managed to run 21K in 2hrs and 15 minutes in training. To increase my chances, I saw a chiropractor, who had a deep tissue massage and a good diet plan for optimal performance.

D-day came and the weather was great, if sunbathing was your intention. It was the hottest morning of the year.

I was good training in cool weather, but with the heat cranked up several notches and all bets were off.

The tail-off in performance is exponential. By the time I had done lap 3 of the scheduled 5, I was beginning to wonder if I would make it to the end.

By now I was barely crawling and noticed a lady stop, assist someone who was nearly fainting and still manage to run past me about 15 minutes later.

I was allergic to stopping in any race I was a part of; to me, It felt like a failure. Looked like I had two choices, keep trying to run all the way through and not finish the race from exhaustion or stop and regroup to myself a chance of completing the race.

The rest is history, I stopped as often as I felt I needed to and managed to complete the race in 2 hours and 24 minutes about 25 minutes later than my target.

Here are some of the things I learned from this experience...

1. Get support - There are smaller margins for gain, shortcut the process by getting a plan
and or mentor

2. Seek community - I did this on my own, I could have accelerated the learning by being part
of a running club

3. Things rarely go to plan - The two previous points will help you better deal with the downs
and enjoy the highs

4. Don't risk your health - listen to your body and don't stubbornly keep to a plan, get
professional help to avoid further damage

5. Don't give up - Stopping could be the new starting if it allows you to regroup and finish
stronger. there is no shame in that