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!

My Taper on Paper...

It's my favorite time of the year, TAPER TIME! I have done all the long training that I am going to do and there is nothing left but to rest up and prepare for the race.I honestly hate the Taper time because I always start to worry if I did enough. Truth be told, I am not sure another long run at this time would do me any good. I had my last long run Friday, a 20 miler. It went really well and was a huge confidence boost for me. I finished it in 3:42, but here is the best thing. I felt great afterwards. I wasn't struggling, I wasn't in sheer agony either! I felt like I had another 6 miles in me for sure!

So I will take the next two weeks to let my body and mind rest, recover and prepare for the race, and here is how I am going to taper:

• I am cutting my mileage back by about 50-75% of what I have been doing. This week I will run 3, 5, 3 and 8 mile runs. The following week I will cut it back even more and run a 3, 3, 2 miler.
• I expect to feel some new pains that will worry me, but I need to remember that is part of it and not unnatural as my body is repairing itself.
• Sleep. I will not try to get excessive sleep, but I will try and make sure I am getting 8 hours of sleep a night.
• I will review the race course map and make sure I am familiar with what is coming up on the course.
• I plan on doing a lot more stretching during my taper and even some easy cross training, like swimming.
• Hydrating- I will definitely start incorporating more water during these next two weeks. I do not know what the weather will be like on Dec 1st yet, but either way, I want to make sure my body is well hydrated.

I am seriously looking forward to this race this year. I learned so much from running it last year, and I know I am more prepared. It is going to be a good time!!!