☆ Marathon Strategy: Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly

Marathon Strategy: Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly 

So here’s how Naht Hanh’s words helped my marathon:

1. Smile. Every time I repeated the mantra, I smiled … and instantly felt better! The simple act of smiling raised my mood every time, and made the run more enjoyable and less difficult. This worked even in the most difficult of times, when I was struggling after 20 miles (those last 6.2 miles are the longest miles ever). I’d smile, and all of a sudden nothing seemed so bad.

2. Breathe. I would literally take a deep breath, and my whole body would relax. Breathing helped me to focus on the moment, rather than thinking about all the miles I’d run or all the miles I still had left to run — I left those thoughts behind when I focused on my breathing, and just thought about the mile I was running now. In fact, I didn’t even think about the whole mile I was running — I thought simply about the steps I was taking and how my body felt and all the sights around me. Focusing on the moment was tremendous, and the marathon was an incredible way for me to practice being present, repeatedly.

3. Go Slowly. This was a reminder for me to not go too fast, especially in the beginning. Of course, later in the race the same pace actually seemed fast, so I didn’t actually “go slowly” toward the end. But going slowly in the beginning really helped. It was also a nice reminder for me to drink in the entire marathon, not just focusing on my running but on everything that was happening. This was my first big marathon (I’ve only run on Guam before) so I was very happy.

This was my third marathon, and I beat my previous marathon in March by 20 minutes, so I was ecstatic with my performance and I loved the crowd and the atmosphere and the course. I had such a great time!

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”– Thich Naht Hanh