HITTING MILESTONES

One Step at a Time

“I’ll start when I feel ready” is something I hear a lot from women who want to start their fitness journey. Here’s the thing, if we waited until we thought we were ready we’d never start anything.

Summer 2022

I fell in love with running, I found it helped me in so many ways physically and mentally. So I incorporated running into my daily routine and it became a part of my life.

December 2022

I was running with a friend of mine, and she asked if I’d like to run the Newport marathon in April 2023, my instant reply was “no way” which then later followed with “maybe the year after, I’m not ready to run that far yet”.

I went home after that run, as I was showering I was thinking about what I said “I’m not ready” I was thinking about all of the advice that I give the women in my team every day when helping them to reach goals, push past their comfort zones and become the best version of themselves and I realised that I was doing exactly what I advise others not to.

“I was scared"

You see I love running, I love pushing myself to become the best version of myself, I love that sense of achievement when I see all my hard work pay off and I loved the thought of completing a full marathon. But I was scared, I feared the amount of work it would take, I feared failure, I was scared that I wouldn’t be any good; and it was then I realised that signing up for the marathon was exactly what I needed to do.

I got out of the shower; I sent my friend a text message and I signed up for the Newport Marathon April 2023.

Nye 2022

New Year's Eve 2022 for me was very different to any before. Instead of dressing up, celebrating, or partying I stayed at home, I created a vision board, I made a list of everything that I needed to do to achieve my goals, I also made a list of everything that would hold me back.

To be able to successfully run a marathon 26.2 miles whilst being a mother, an online fitness coach and training live with my team every day without burning out, I would have to focus on these 4 things:

1. Planning & Preparation – I would have to plan and prepare all my runs, strength workouts, run clubs, challenges, meals, rest days, content, I would have to run a tight schedule to fit everything I needed to do into my already busy days.

2. Prioritise – I would have to prioritise the things that needed to be done before anything else.

3. Consistency – I would have to turn up consistently for the next 3 months, I would have to do the work on the days that I was motivated to, and more importantly do the work on the days when I wasn’t motivated.

4. Rest & Recovery – I would have to prioritise rest and recovery for my body to be able to upkeep such a busy schedule. Rest – Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Rehydrate – Aim to drink at least 2 litres of water per day. Refuel –Make sure that I am fuelling by body with the correct nutrition to replace energy stores, repair muscle tissue, and avoid risk of injury.

I would have to eliminate everything that could potentially hold me back:

• Late nights

• Alcohol

• Unsupportive people

It would be far from easy, there would be times I would want to give up but I would need to think of how it would feel to accomplish such a huge goal.

01/01/23

I woke up at 6am to complete my first run of the year, a half marathon. It felt amazing to a goal in place and start the year off well.

Saturday morning long runs: The main part of marathon training was training my body to run further than it's ever ran before. Before signing up for this marathon the furthest I had ever run was 13 miles. So, every single Saturday me and my friend Sarah would run a little further than the week before, in preparation for the big day.

25/03/23

We ran 24 miles, the was our furthest run before we started to taper down our runs ready for April 16th.

Training through the winter for a marathon has been the hardest training I’ve ever put my body through. We’ve ran through wind, snow, sleet, rain, ice and floods. The amount of time, consistency and preparation that must go into it has taken over my whole life, I have used all my energy up on training and find I have very little energy for anything much else. I have missed out on social occasions, events, holidays, weekends away, I have wanted to give up, I have cried (many times), but I have also loved it more than any training I’ve done before. The sense of achievement this training has given me has completely evolved my mindset.

I know that whatever happens on the day I have absolutely no regrets, I have worked harder than I have ever worked before and for that I am very proud. Every day I wake up feeling grateful for my good health and for the ability to be able to run.

Since starting my fitness journey all those years ago I started to THINK that maybe I was capable of more, now I KNOW I am, and so are you! We are all capable of anything we are willing to work hard for.

I want to say a special thank you to Sarah my friend who I am running the marathon with, she has been an absolute star and so supportive through this training, thank you to all of my friends who have been absolutely amazing and the biggest thank you to my family, especially my mum and dad for being there for whatever and whenever I have needed them, I appreciate you so much, I am beyond grateful.

Newport Marathon Sunday 16/04/23

Lauren Green Empowered Women Fitness www.empoweredfitplan.com