Hi everyone! I’m Kali and I blog over at finishing firsts. I write about running, marathon training and living in Cleveland, Ohio. I am a certified personal trainer and have been a runner for two and a half years and started road racing two years ago. I’m really excited to be a part of Ashley’s Marathons+Moderation series!

I ran my first (and so far only) marathon in Columbus last October. After 18 weeks of training, I crossed the finish line in 4:30:31.

One of the first things I said to my friend and my dad at the finish was, “oh my God, I sucked.” I struggled through miles 15-26 and finished a half hour after my goal.

While I was training for the race, my whole life was about the marathon. I changed around my work availability, never hung out with my friends, didn’t drink a drop of alcohol, watched everything I ate and basically just didn’t have any fun while I was training.

I was completely miserable.

I had no idea what the words moderation and balance meant. My life was all about running and the disappointment in my performance definitely affected other areas of my life, like work and my then-relationship.

I immediately signed up for a second marathon in the spring, in Cleveland. My disappointment and lack of desire to train that I picked up after Columbus plus the crappy winter weather made marathon training the second time around even more miserable than the first. Six weeks before the race, I dropped down and ran the half marathon again.

About a month before the half, I realized something: running is supposed to be fun. It’s not my job, I don’t get paid to do it and my life is about so much more than the time on the clock or the pace on my watch. I’m a runner, but I’m also a personal trainer, friend, girlfriend, daughter, sister, etc. Why was I taking it so seriously?

In the following weeks, I learned to just let it go and start having fun. And it definitely showed. I ran one half marathon in Columbus the weekend before Cleveland in May and though I didn’t PR either race, I did run two of the best and most consistent half marathons of my career.

And when I started training for the upcoming Chicago marathon in July, I kept that same “it’s just running” attitude and so far, it’s definitely paid off. I’ve given myself time to hang out with my friends, not miss out on social events and even enjoyed some fall beers and desserts 🙂 I’ve enjoyed all of my long runs, been extremely consistent and I’m feeling very confident in myself and my abilities going into this race. I’ve even made a great group of running friends.

I’m not sure what October 9 is going to hold for me, but I can guarantee one thing: I’m going to have a good day running 26.2 in Chicago. As long as I’m having fun and doing my thing, I won’t be disappointed.