How to conquer your first marathon

I have always looked up to individuals who set goals for themselves, put a plan in place, put in the required time, weather the storms along the way and essentially go from zero to hero by achieving their set goal.

One such person is Ncumisa Pongola, also known as @Ncumfit on Instagram.

I have followed this young lady’s health and fitness journey for almost two years on social media and I have come to admire her tenacious, outgoing character.

She does the health and fitness thing with a smile on her face because she knows the benefits and reaps them on a daily basis.

A year ago, Ncumisa wasn’t much of a runner but she certainly played a good cheerleader by supporting her running friends. She found herself at the finish line of the 2018 Soweto Marathon, supporting her friend Reba who was running.

On that day she decided to give herself a full year to train for the 2019 edition of the race.

This is her account of the past year of training that took her to the start line of this year’s race which took place two weeks ago:

Last year I watched one of my friends, Reba, complete the Soweto Marathon. I remember being inspired by watching all the runners cross the finish line that I decided I would sign up for the 2019 race. I had not run any race at this point, not even 21km.

Two weekends after the marathon I jumped straight into the deep end and ran 20km just to see what my legs could handle. My legs were so sore I could hardly walk afterwards!

A week after that I ran with Reba and he tricked me into running 28km. I did not know the route and he made us run so far out that the way back home would end up being a total of 28km.

My general gym fitness got me through this but I guess it certainly wasn’t the right way to start my training.

Throughout the year I entered a couple of races during my preparation. Fellow runners told me that I would need to eat a lot of carbs before races because they would give me more energy.

My pre-race diet included oats for breakfast and other carbs such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, chickpeas and green vegetables in my other meals.

I signed up for a number of races and I remember running my first 21km race with what they call a “bus”.

I didn’t know what a bus was before I started running but my friend told me that the bus helps to get you through races. The bus is a group of people who target to reach the finish line at a certain time and it has a leader called the “bus driver” who paces everyone. The experience was amazing.

Throughout the year, I would wake up with Reba to do morning runs and races on weekends. Soweto came sooner than expected.

Three months before the marathon I actually fell off my training schedule due to work commitments. I was not running as much but I did find myself going to the gym more often.

This worked well because it helped to strengthen my muscles. I also joined a local running community and attended their weekly runs.

Fast forward to the end of October. Soweto was knocking at the door and I suddenly became nervous about my readiness. I continued running, eating clean and hydrating a lot.

November 2. The day before the race. I did not have fruit or any vegetables. Just the usual oats and for dinner I had a peanut butter sandwich. Doubt crept into my mind. I had never run a 42km race before.

November 3. Race day. At the starting line the atmosphere was incredible with songs being sung by runners. I almost cried when they sang Shosholoza.

The gun went off and the excitement got me going. The first 15km of the race were fine. I was feeling very strong, plus it wasn’t hot yet.

At 18km in my legs started feeling a little bit of fatigue as we hit the hills. This was when I started taking short walking breaks. Reba was still running with me and at this point he started looking at me with worried eyes.

It started getting exceptionally hot and I started becoming extremely thirsty. The next water point was still far off but thankfully a resident had a hosepipe and was offering water to the runners.

I took two huge sips and hit the road again. I started feeling fresh again and strong enough to run. At this point the 4:50 bus caught up to us and we joined in.

The tunes they were singing made me feel like I was at the starting line all over again. I was running directly behind the bus driver at this point and I got so lost in the rhythm I did not realise that my friend Reba was no longer with me.

I tried calling out for him but in the mix of runners I accepted that we had lost each other and would either reconnect on the road or at the end. I eventually fell off the bus but manage to continue at a slower pace.

We hit the treacherous Vilakazi Street. Goodness me! I walked the entire road and even considered calling an Uber. That’s how tough it was but I remembered my goal and persevered.

At the 27km mark I was hungry, thirsty, and my legs were sore. I ate apples, magewu and chips along the way.

My hamstring started cramping and on the side of the road I got a quick ice massage on the thighs and had my legs sprayed. I was encouraged to go on and I did just that.

My glute was also hurting and I was almost limping. I wondered why I even decided to run the marathon.

Along the way there were people cheering, telling us we were almost there and giving us that extra go. I eventually got to the last 8km of the race.

I just wanted to see the stadium. An older man saw me struggling and offered to run with me to the finish.

He suggested a run-walk strategy and I trusted his judgment and did as he suggested. I continued running with him and eventually I saw the stadium. I knew the medal was in the bag.

We crossed the finish line in a time of 5 hours, 27 minutes.

Zulu is a qualified biokineticist and cofounder of PopUpGym. Follow her on Instagram: @letshego.zulu; Twitter: @letshegom; Facebook: Letshego Zulu

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