Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A Twofer! (2 for 1 post)

This post is like reading two posts in one post, hence the name twofer. ( I feel obligated to come up with catchy titles after I just posted about blog titles). As you might have heard, I have a marathon coming up on Saturday? I am sure I have mentioned once or twice on here. Anyways, I have been going back and forth on  my preparedness for this thing. One day I feel I am so ready, only to be followed by the dreadful thoughts of "why did I sign up for this thing"? So no sooner do I have my mind set that this is a pointless race for me to run, then my psyche changes it up and I feel ready to run. Sooooooooo, here are my thoughts, both sides of the brain, the part that is ready and the part that is not.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?
What was I Thinking?
I am not sure I can beat 6:08!  Last year it was tough and embarrassing to run a marathon that slow. I have never been a great runner and distance is definitely not my thing. There is no way I can get a decent time and I really think I will have trouble and be very disappointed if I do not see a major improvement. People have donated money for this race also and I will be letting them down. The weather is going to be much warmer than I expected so I will probably cramp up and have troubles. I never order a new pair of shoes like I was going too either. I know I will screw up my nutrition plan, I won;t be able to keep up with my pace group. I know I will start out to fast. It will get lonely once all the half marathoners split off. I know I will be walking A LOT! I should have done one more 20 miler!!!

PIECE OF CAKE, I GOT THIS!!!

I can't wait for Saturday morning at 8 o'clock. I am so much more prepared for the marathon than I was last year, and I learned a lot from running it a year ago. I am so proud to have raised money for St. Jude! I have a plan for the race that will get me a sub 5 hour marathon. I know where and when I am going to take in nutrition. I know where the water stops are going to be.I know what to expect and I am ready for it. I know this course. I know what pace I can keep. I have all the support in the world. The weather is going to be perfect, no cold like last year. This year I get to wear the St Jude Heroes singlet! Such an honor for me! It's one mile at a time, I am going to run my race, at my pace! I am a solid sub 5 hour finisher. I cannot wait to slap high fives with the crowd throughout the the course, I can not wait...CAN NOT WAIT for that finisher's medal to be placed around my neck. I will get to the food tent this year when they actually have food left!

I am hoping to be in the mindset of the second piece of this post on Saturday. Tapering sucks and gives me to much time to think!

13 comments:

  1. You are physically ready to run sub 5. You have to mentally prepare yourself to stay on pace late when EVERYONE in front of you and behind you on East Parkway appears to be walking. Get your GPS watch at hit consistent mile paces the whole time, something less than 11:24 per mile and gitrdone. Pick a realistic pace that you have train for and stick to it. And for lawds sake don't go out too hard or wear too much clothing. It's supposed to be in the 60's, you should be near naked! Have fun and run your own race. This is not the race to see how fast you can run. This is the race to learn how to pace yourself and run a steady pace over the whole course. Enjoy the hot soup and donuts at the end!

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    1. Thanks Greg! I appreciate all the advice you have given me!

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  2. I am so proud of you for doing this. It's for such an amazing cause and I know you are invested physically and emotionally for this race. I have witnessed the amount of sweat you have put into training and know you have analyzed how to be prepared for it. You are ready and just like Branson, you will have earned redeemption on Sat. Enjoy it!

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    1. Thank you Babe! Thanks for putting up with all the sweaty running clothes and empty water bottles all over the place!

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  4. Definitely go with the more upbeat version. You are going to rock this!

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  5. You got this for sure. Sub 5 is a given in my opinion since I follow your training. Set your sites on the positive path and you will be fine for sure. If things go wrong, there is nothing wrong with a back up plan.

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    1. Thanks Mike, it is going to go as planned! I am sticking to my race plan!!!

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  6. The training is done, the prep is done, the nutrition plan, the highs/lows, everything....it's all done.

    Tonight and tomorrow try to get as much sleep as you can. Hydrate, eat right, and relax. Envision yourself hitting your marks, when you're going to take your nutrition, crossing the finish line, seeing 4:45 on the clock....

    You got this homie!

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    1. Appreciate it Brad! I am looking forward to running and I have accepted that a sub 5 hour is very doable, so now I just need to go "DO IT"!

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