Pushing Yourself in More Than Finances

For the last 10 years, I’ve wanted to run a marathon but marathon’s are daunting. Even though I played soccer and trained for hours each day, I didn’t think I could run a marathon so I didn’t try.

I also told myself I’d never get out of debt.

As I watch my debt amount fall, I’ve become more confident in my ability to do my list of impossibilities. I see that I am capable of doing more than I ever thought achievable. Suddenly, a marathon looks like something that is hard… but something I can do.

I told my husband I was planning to start running and the marathon I chose to run to next year (one of the most grueling marathons in San Diego) and he said, ‘Are you sure?’

And I am.

I have just shy of one year to prepare for my 26 mile ‘impossibility’. I guess it’s time to say goodbye to my jelly donut and rolled taco diet and say hello to my tennis shoes.

Isn’t it time you stretched yourself in more than your finances? And is paying off debt giving anyone else the ‘I can do anything’ thoughts?

Posted by Beks on June 18, 2009 at 10:05 PM in Keeping Motivated, Life Experiences | 19 Comments »
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FrugalMe responded:
Posted: June 18th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Hi Beks, Good luck you can do it. It starts with that one step. Just find the way that works for yo and does not seem difficult and daunting. People tend to have problems with exercising and their finances because they often extend and overextend themselves initially therefore setting themselves up for failure. And what do then they get? They become despondent think it’s too hard and never achieve the goal.

Keep the goal in mind and take the smalls steps we all took when we were babies learning to walk!
Congratulations!

PS Try to take part in shorter events as a build up to the half and then the full marathon.
mom responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I think it’s a terrific idea Beks! However… does this mean I need to make another big time change to my dinner menus on Sunday?? Between your sister, who now eats raw, and your brother and sister-n-law, who don’t eat red meat, my menu ideas are beginning to dwindle. Maybe I should just start having everyone bring their own meals??? Seriously… way to go.

Love, mom
mom responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I forgot to mention….. Happy Birthday. Smooches.
angie responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Congrats on trying for the marathon. I would caution, however, that there is a fair amount of necessary gear needed to train for/run the marathon. It would interesting to see if anyone has tips for a “frugal marathon.” In my training, I went through two pairs of $110 shoes – that’s probably the one area you cannot skimp on!
Rae responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Good thought Angie. I’ve only run one marathon and spent about $500 in the 6 months that I trained for it and ran it. Between tennis shoes (which I now get on ebay and save about $20), race fees, coaching fees, and proper clothing gear, it added up.

Good luck Becks! It’s an empowering feeling — both getting out of debt and training to run that distance.
Wren responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 9:32 am
You could also find a team that’s doing the marathon and join with them. It will require fundraising, but if it’s a cause you believe in, that’s not as hard as you might think. That will also cover a lot of the costs associated with the marathon, other than proper gear. I did one a few years ago, joining the Arthritis Foundation’s team, and spent some money on shoes, a good bra, and some socks. Then I raised a little over 3400 bucks, and spent 4-5 days in Hawaii, doing the marathon and enjoying the results of my hard work. It has its merits, all that work.
Glenn responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Dang I love rolled tacos.
Too far away from San Diego now for a road trip.
Dang.
nancy responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Wren, if you see this, can you tell me what (family) hotel is good for the marathon weekend in Hi?

Beks, you can erase that if you want. I do not mean to be rude. I am just going crazy finding a place. Thank you Beks, and Happy Birthday.
Jeff responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
It seems like there’s definitely some kind of correlation to getting fit both financially and physically — there seem to be at least several sets of blogs where one person will be writing a blog about dealing with their debt/financial situation and another blog about their dieting attempts! I know that I have been working on both my debt and my diet this year too — I’ve lost about 50 pounds since January, but my debt situation is still not all that great — right now I’m worried about facing foreclosure on my house, but I’m actually dealing with it instead of hiding from it like I probably would have before.
Jill responded:
Posted: June 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Just an FYI – all marathons are the same length so there is not a “longest”. A marathon is 26.2 miles. Beyond that, are ultramarathons.

Good luck! I’d highly recommend finding a training group!
Linda B responded:
Posted: June 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Good luck with the marathon training. I started training last month for a 1/2 marathon in December. Got a bit light-headed after running a 5k and decided that my 1st marathon had to be run in my hometown – Rock N Roll San Diego in June 2010. So I’ve got a little less than a year, too!
Running is a bit like getting out of debt. Both are seemingly impossible. But both are attainable one step at a time.
Beks responded:
Posted: June 20th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Thanks for all the advice! I’m going to have an interesting year.

Jill – Thanks for the heads up! I needed to know that!

Jeff – Congrats on the 50 pounds! I hope the finances follow!

Linda B – I’ll be running beside you. I’m training for the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego as well. Hurray for San Diego!
Cindy responded:
Posted: June 20th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I have discovered the same thing about myself as I work toward becoming debt free. I joined a gym and started running with a goal of a mini-marathon next year. It’s like the motivation and perseverence carries over into other parts of your life. Good luck!
Abigail responded:
Posted: June 20th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I am (slowly) losing weight. It’s a long, constant struggle. I really like junk food. But I’m slowly finding a balance between crazy, stuffing my face and crazy, self-denial. I’m getting better at finding the middle road. Sometimes I have treats. Mostly, I try to find lower-calorie/fat treats so I can have them more often. But there are days I am exhausted and feel awful and want pizza. And that’s okay sometimes. I don’t have to feel guilty or beat myself up. I just have to try and walk as many days as I can and not use up my energy (I have chronic fatigue) on being angry at myself or trying to deny myself.

So far, I’m down 3 lbs in 3 weeks with the blogger weight loss challenge and about 8 lbs overall. Short-term goal: Get under 200 (hard to know exactly because my scale is inaccurate but at least it’s consistently inaccurate) Next goal: Get down to 175. Goal after that: Won’t be set until I’m closer to 175 and I see how it looks and how I feel.

I’m finding a middle road in finances, too. Not trying to bomb it out with pure privation until we get out of debt. My husband has been a wonderful, grounding influence on me in this regard. And I’ve taught him to be frugal. Kind of a nice exchange, really!
Tvents responded:
Posted: June 22nd, 2009 at 2:06 am
Sometimes we cannot avoid ourselves to have some debts. The important thing is that we can pay our debts at least with a regular payment. Meanwhile, we should also pay attention to our other needs including our health. We have to be balance in terms of lives.
CanadianDebtGirl responded:
Posted: June 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Congratulations on making the decision to complete a marathon! Debt repayment is definitely harder than the physical endurance needed for the long run you are about to complete, so I have no doubt you will do it!

Way to go!

I’ve also decided to run one next May, so I guess I should tie those shoes on…
Shoshana responded:
Posted: June 22nd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I’ve wanted to train to run a race too, but nothing as ambitious as a marathon. We have just paid down a major chunk of debt and now I feel like my mind has more space to consider the goal of getting fit. I also have four kids and homeschool so it wouldn’t hurt at all to drop some weight and be more fit in order to keep up with everyone better!
Jessica responded:
Posted: June 23rd, 2009 at 8:03 am
In January of this year we realized we were in 6 figures of debt. We have created a budget and have been working it religiously since February. Also in January I began training for a 10K in April (which I completed and it was awesome!). Then I ran a 5K with a friend this month, am planning another 10K for July 11th, then a half marathon in November.

I feel like I can do whatever I put my mind to. I totally get what you are talking about. Taking control of my finances has made me realize that taking control of whatever seems impossible in my life is just about ‘deciding’ to do it. I have realized that I have been my only obstacle to whatever I have perceived to be impossible. And that is beginning to change.
Beks responded:
Posted: June 23rd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Wow, I’m glad to hear about so many people deciding to get their finances AND their health in order. They are so closely tied!

Shoshana – Glad to hear you are homeschooling the four kids. I know it’s a financial burden (my mother struggled to buy books for us) but in the long run, we all ended up doing well. I graduated college Cum Laude! My mother made fitness a requirement (like schools do) and she worked out with us. We’ve all been fortunate not to struggle with our weight much since she encouraged that discipline in us very young.