How Consistency and Confidence Led to a 10-Minute Marathon PR!

Major milestone:

Personal Best Marathon time--dropped 10 minutes! Also, no leg cramps during the race!

What is the secret to your success?

I believe the secret to my success on this marathon was consistency in training and following the Runcoach assignments faithfully. By doing this I had the confidence on raceday to mitigate my nervousness and relax after the start so that I stayed in control.

What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it? 

My biggest obstacle is myself. I get really nervous before these races often resulting in lack of sleep and a poor performance. The training and the advice in the blogs from the Coach Cally and the other experts have really helped me to have confidence and overcome my fears. Following a routine for me is very important.

What is the most rewarding part of training? 

The most rewarding part of the training for me is getting through some hard workouts and seeing the improvement even though I didn't think I could even complete the assignment. I decided to just trust the program and stay consistent in the training.

What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community?

I would say my best advice (I am definitely not an expert) is to push yourself to complete all of the assignments. For example, even if your interval times are not as fast or faster than the assignment, if you stick with it, you will notice the improvements as you progress.

Anything else you would like to share?

There are multiple computer training programs out there, but I like the "community feel" of the Runcoach experience and the resources such as the live coach for some expert advice and the articles on various topics that deal with the running experience.