Kreder - Onward! The Absolute, No B.S., Raw, Ridiculous Soul-Stirring Truth About Training For Your First Marathon

Copyright 2013 by Brook Kreder

This memoir is a product of the authors recollections and is thus rendered as a subjective accounting of events that occurred in his/her life. Some of the names in this book have been changed to protect individual privacy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-0-9896831-0-4

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

This memoir contains general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information in this memoir as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information shared in this book.

To all the people who believed I could when I didnt yet believe for myself.

And to YOU ... if youre considering YOUR first marathon. Its a crazy, soulful, hilarious, challenging, bad a**, rugged journey. But I guaranfreakintee if you want to change your life, this sh*t works.

ONWARD!

Brook Kreder

And if you knew me, YOU never would have thought I would, either.

In all fairness, I never really cared to chase 26.2 miles. After all, who is dumb enough to say, (out loud, of course), Oh, heck yeah, man! Im all kinds of in on beating the hell out of myself for 18 weeks straight in hopes I dont freakin kill myself on race day.

Not only that, but, Hey! Id love to tear up my skeletal structure, lose a toenail or two, give up my coveted weekends and be a bona fide, bat sh*t, white hot mess for the better half of a YEAR.

Yeah, um. Thatd be me.

Before you dive in to the blow-by-blow of all things marathon, there are a few things Id like to confess.

When I decided to hop on the marathon training bus, my life was a f*ing disaster .

Ive spent the better part of my 30s moving between depressed and completely p*ssed off. I was mostly mad at myself for making crappy choices, and then Id get depressed about the results of those crappy a** choices.

Trust me, there have been some doozies.

The first terrible idea I had was starting my own business. I suppose there are people on the planet who are designed to be entrepreneurs. At the time, I definitely wasnt one of them. I started my own business about the same time the economy totally blew out. So, as sh*t was burning down before my very eyes, I forced myself to do whatever was necessary to make the sale.

Now, before you go there ... no, I never traded sex for money.

But my actions did send my moral compass flying clean off its axis. I willingly threw every last boundary I had out the ever-lovin window. I let my clients run roughshod over me: You need a ride to the airport? No problem. You want a bunch of sh*t for free? Ive got your back. You need me to pick up your groceries and then swing by and pull the f*ing stitches out of your back? Im your girl.

Anything for the sale, right?

I got married around the time I started my business, which didnt bode well for anyone.

Heres what I believe: No one teaches you how to be married. Colleges should offer an MBA in all things holy matrimony. This sh*t is hard. Furthermore, no one hands over a how to guide for being a wife and a woman. Nor do they share how these two very important roles can coexist peacefully in the same person. So, for the first three years of my union, I willingly gave away my power. (I honestly thought thats what wives were supposed to do.) I kept my mouth shut. I was a go-along-to-get-along sort of gal. I turned my back on myself and what I knew to be right and true for me. I erased every last boundary in hopes of having a loving, happy relationship with Hubs.

Dont do that.

Heres what I learned: When you give up your boundaries in any area of your life, you lose your soul.

Every time I moved a boundary or one got danced on, stepped over or shoved to the side, I lost a bit of myself. Over time, my self-confidence and self-worth were MIA. I had slowly become a victim in my own life. And the truth is, I had no one to blame but myself.

[Heres where I get empowered.]

I woke up one morning in mid-December (after turning 36) and finally clued in that being a victim looked awful on me.

I needed a way out, so I chose to do something I could control: I decided that something was to train for my first marathon.

Listen. It took me six full years to hit bottom. When I got there, I took a long, hard look around. Thats also when Self and I had a come-to-Jesus meeting of the mind.

I said, Okay Self, remember me? Youre in the ugliest, crappiest, darkest place youve ever been in the history of your life. Now, what in the f* are we going to do to get out of here?

Self shrugged and said, Run a Marathon.

So, I did.

For me running isnt about pounding pavement and racking up miles. Running is the vehicle I used to heal. Over 18 weeks and a sh*t load break downs, blow outs and damn bad plans along the trail, I found My voice. My heart. My sanity. My truth.

I even found My bad-a**-mother-f*ing swagger.

Running a marathon helped me to reconnect with My Self.

And the bonus? I also found my purpose. (Surprisingly, its to make people laugh and give it to em straight! Who knew?)

All this leads me to this book.

Inside, youll find the blow-by-blow of how I trained for my first marathon. Its a no B.S., daily account of my training woes, mistakes, miles, breakthroughs and more. Its raw, uncensored and loaded with truths and cuss-words. (So if cuss words offend you, this book isnt for you.)

Why did I decide to blog daily, no less about this experience?

For one, I wanted a place to tell this story. I never intended for anyone else to read or follow the blog; I just wanted somewhere to store my thoughts. I also wanted a space to tell the freakin truth. Never once did anyone mention that crazy, unpredictable, mind-blowing sh*t WILL happen to you when youre in training.

And lastly, I blogged because writing every day even when it was hard and I had no time or no idea what to say helped me find my voice.

Note: Youll see a significant improvement in my writing as the book progresses. If YOU want to be a better writer, commit to pounding it out on your keyboard daily. That sh*t works.

The bottom line is this: I turned the blog into a book because my readers asked me to.

I sincerely hope youll love reading this as much as I loved living it.

So, without further ado, let the crazy, soulful journey to 26.2, begin. And be prepared to laugh YOUR ever-lovin a** off.

ONWARD!