My reflection is based on a community of practice that I was new to as a learner several years ago when I ran my first marathon. I had always wanted to do one so I signed up without an research or knowledge on what it took to run a marathon, so I relied a lot on the resources of others in online forums and magazines to help me understand what it took to successfully run a marathon. I quickly realized there was a lot more that went into running a marathon other than the day of run. Through several online blogs and a running magazine, my eyes were opend up to everything that goes into this crazy hobby: intense 6 month tranining programs, diet tips and suggestions (I thought if you were running that much you could just eat whatever!), inspirational tips, necessary gear, and this crazy stuff called gu you have to take during training. I was slightly blown away by everything I didn't know, but I dove right in and told myself that I was going to be 100% committed to doing this the right way and following along with what everyone suggested to me.

I also reached out to friends who had run before or were currently training and we formed our own small community to discuss our runs and routes and diets and what gear we needed to buy (and when). It was so interesting being a brand new learner to something because I hadn't really felt that way in a long time. 

Now that I have completed 3 marathons, I find that I am a strong resource for other friends to discuss who to successfully train for a marathon.