Tag: marathon training

One Foot in Front of the Other

by Kimberly Frey, posted in Motivational, Running, fitness, Uncategorized, Women

We are a little over five weeks away from the Chicago Marathon, and I have made it through most of my training. When I last wrote, I was preparing for my first ten mile run. Since then, I’ve completed the majority of my long runs: 10, 13, 14, and 16. I only have an 18 mile and 20 mile run left. Some runs have been better than others, but overall I am making progress, getting stronger, and (hopefully) faster. These changes aren’t just random; they are occurring because I keep running.

In order to be successful in marathon training, I have to keep getting out there and doing the training part. It’s not going to just happen. I have to make the choice to get up, put my running clothes on, head out the door….. and then RUN. If I completed all of the preparation steps but never actually ran, then I would never actually be ready for my race. The running is the hardest part, but it’s the part that is the most necessary. (This is also a very useful life analogy!)

I previously shared that I am working towards a goal of running a new personal best this year. To do so would mean that I would have to run the marathon in less than 4 hours and 57 minutes, my fastest marathon time from sixteen years ago. My last few long runs have been a struggle, and I haven’t been running at the pace needed to hit that goal. With that in mind, I have created a secondary goal of simply being able to finish as close as I can get to, or maybe even slightly under, five hours. While this might not seem like much of an adjustment, it’s just enough to keep me motivated during these last weeks of training and also keeps me close enough to my primary goal that I can keep pushing to maybe still accomplish it.

Throughout this training season, I have been encouraged by the support that has been shown to me. People who know that I am training for the marathon check in on my progress and ask me how things are going. Since I am running this race as a charity fundraiser for Girls in the Game, even more people have also supported those efforts by donating to my fundraising page – many of them complete strangers. Some of you reading this post even received it as part of my thank you email for your support. The kindness is not lost on me, and I have been taking all the positive energy in as marathon day gets closer. Knowing others believe in me makes it easier for me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If you would like to donate to my efforts and continue with sending the love, you can use this link here. Even if you cannot donate anything, sharing this blog and the link with others and following my journey is a tangible way of showing your support. As a life coach and consultant, my motto is You Can Do It. I Can Help. As a charity runner trying to meet her marathon and fundraising goals, my personal motto is currently…

I Can Do It. You Can Help.

Thank you for all of your support!

Will I or Won’t I?

by Kimberly Frey, posted in Girls, Motivational, Running, fitness, Women

The last time I wrote, I shared that I was training for my 3rd Chicago marathon. Well, marathon training is ramping up with my first double digits run happening this weekend. I’ve been pushing myself to be consistent in my training in hopes of being able to – if not get a new personal best time – then to at least finish in under five hours. Seeing as the last time I ran a marathon in under five hours was over a decade ago, I know it’s a lofty goal. But, it’s one I’m still willing to work for.

I’ve shared here before that I love how running is truly an excellent analogy for life. We are all running this marathon called life together, and while there are always other factors at play, how well we do primarily depends on how much work we are willing to put in. We all have the same start and will all end up at the same finish. I’m not trying to be metaphorical here. We are all born, and we will all die. What we do with the time we have between those two points will determine how successful we are, just as the training I choose to do (or not do) determines how successful my marathon attempt will be.

As a former varsity cross country and track coach, I used to remind my athletes that they needed to focus on running “their” race. There were always going to be runners who were faster than them, and for some of them having a 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd place finish was not realistic. They needed to keep their own goals in mind as those were the ones that were realistic for them. Now, as a life coach for adults, I use a goal format where one of the tenants are for the goal to be “realistic.” It’s the non-running version of running your own race. While it’s important and necessary for us to aim high, if we consistently create unattainable goals for ourselves we will end up feeling defeated. I have always set high expectations for myself, my former students and athletes, and now my clients, but they have been designed around realistic outcomes. I never set a goal for a brand new runner who could barely run 10 minute miles to cut that time to 4 minute miles by the end of the season, but I would set the goal that they shave it down to 7 or 8 because while it would take hard work on their part, it was still something I knew they could accomplish.

So, I guess I said all that to say this – is running a marathon in under 5 hours a realistic goal for me? At this point and time, I’m saying yes. Now…ask me again a month from now, and we’ll see if my answer has changed. Follow along on my training journey to find out!

Also, I’m running the marathon in support of Girls in the Game, a fantastic organization providing sports programming and more for girls all throughout Chicago. If you’d like to make a donation, please click here for my fundraising page. Every dollar counts, and is fully tax-deductible.

Thank you for your support as both a reader and a donor!

Retirement’s Over

by Kimberly Frey, posted in Chicago, Girls, Motivational, Running, fitness, Uncategorized, Women

I’m sure no one has to tell you that running a marathon is hard. Even if you have never ran one yourself, have no desire to run one, or aren’t a runner at all, most people generally understand that training for and running in a marathon is a lot of work. If it were easy, everyone would do it right? So it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that when I ran the Chicago marathon for the second time back in 2021, I decided that it would be my last marathon until whenever I had the opportunity to run the original course in Greece. I actually told my partner that I was “retiring” from the marathon until that time. However, fast forward to 2024 and here we go again. I am officially running the Chicago marathon for a third time. I would say it’ll be my last, but life has taught me to never say never.

So what caused me to change my mind and return to a summer full of early mornings, long runs, speed workouts, and intense training? My love for Girls in the Game (GitG). GitG is a wonderful organization here in Chicago that provides sports programming for girls throughout the city. Just as we know that kids’ participation in sports is about more than the sport itself, GitG does so much more for girls than just provide sports instruction. The programs they run help girls to build a positive self-esteem and self-worth, develop their leadership and team building skills, and create healthy relationships that will endure.

Because I love GitG’s messages of girl power and overall female empowerment, I joined their Auxiliary Board last year as my way to support their work. So when they were asking for charity runners for this year’s marathon, there really was no way that I could say no (especially since they all knew “I was a runner”). I have ran as a charity partner for a couple of other organizations that I love, but this is the first time that I have ran for an organization where I have a first-hand opportunity to see the ins and outs of what my support means. I have also set a goal for myself to aim for a new personal record (PR) for my marathon time with this attempt, so I am more focused than ever on being true to training and preparation. This makes this fundraising/training cycle even more personal, and my hope is that these efforts pay off both in reaching (exceeding!) my fundraising minimum and achieving a time of 4 hours and 45 minutes in October. I love Girls in the Game, and I love being able to support them in this way. If you want to throw in your support of us both, please consider donating here: https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/kimberly-frey and subscribe to this blog to get regular updates on my progress.

School’s Out for Summer

by Kimberly Frey, posted in Running, fitness, Uncategorized

This past Wednesday was the last day of school. Even though I had already spent quite a bit of time going through file cabinets and bookshelves, it still took me almost two days to sort through my belongings and pack up my room. You can only imagine how difficult it is to go through a decade’s worth of teaching material. Plus, I do not yet know what I will be teaching (or if I’ll be teaching) when I move, so of course I don’t want to get rid of anything. I did put together a couple of boxes that I am donating to new teachers, but everything else is now sitting in the corner of one of the portables on campus until I actually move at the end of July. This is also the first summer ever that I have not taught summer school. So now I find myself with 8 weeks to alternate my time between the beach and getting ready for my move. I have some really great plans: spending time with my family and friends before I leave them, reading all the books that were neglected during the school year, continue job hunting, and training for another half- marathon. The first one that I ran post-injury was in March. While I accomplished my primary goal of completing the race, my body definitely wasn’t anywhere as strong as I would’ve liked it to be. Shortly after that race, I recommitted to my yoga practice. I will say it has helped tremendously. I am excited to see how this race compares to the one I ran in March. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂