I'm ready to go...but I'm not leaving on a jet plane.
Trea and I are hitting the road for Memphis. It's marathon weekend! Tomorrow, I will run my first (possibly my last) 26.2 and I am 100% terrified. The marathon is nothing to sneeze at. It's far. It's hard. If it were easy, more people would do it.
I told Bella how far a marathon is. This is her "Say what?" face.
Looking back on my training, I think I'm as prepared as I can be. No, I didn't follow my plan. Cross training intentions died somewhere in the first few weeks, and speed work followed not long after. I wasn't in good enough shape to get through all the workouts without causing problems with other parts of my life and my health. So I've done what I can do. Will that be enough tomorrow? We'll see.
As for goals, my first goal is to finish. As long as I finish, I'll be fine. My even-better-than-finishing goal would be to come in at 5:10 or under. There's a 5:10 pace team I'm thinking of joining, and while it would be awesome to finish faster than that, I know deep down that that's the group for me.
My over-the-moon goal would be to finish in under 5 hours. But let's get real here. When I check my half marathon time and 10 miler times on a race calculator, the result always projects that I'll finish around 5:12 or so. That's my ability level. And if crossing the line in 10 or 15 minutes more means that I don't collapse at mile 22, then who cares? I ran 20 miles in about 3:55, so I just don't think I have excellent chances of finishing in less than 5:00. But that's ok! Because I'll still get a medal! And I will still be a marathoner!
I will know I've done my best. That's all I can do.
You can do it! Good luck. I'll be cheering you on tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIf you finish in 2 hours or 7 hours, you're still going to be a marathoner! And you're still going to have accomplished something less than 2% of the population EVER do!
ReplyDeleteYou're going to to great. You've put in the miles. Yur body knows what do to. Just make sure you keep ahold of your brain! You can do this. You WILL do this!
Don't go out too fast. The first few miles should feel waaay too slow. Keep reminding yourself that you "are running a freakin' marathon" and smile!
I'm so proud of your hard work and so excited for you!!!
Good luck! You are going to rock it! I just did my first marathon a few weeks ago and had an amazing time. Make sure you soak it all in and have fun! Don't even worry about the time. You only have one first marathon so make the most of it! :) Really embrace the roller coaster of emotions that you will experience, I promise once you see the finish line it's all worth it! :) I met this super cute old guy when I ran mine and it was his 62nd marathon. He told me that today was my day, enjoy every second, and to not be next to any crazies when you cross the finish line because you want a good picture. BEST advice ever! Good luck and enjoy the party!
ReplyDeleteHope it went well, Anna! I am running my first tomorrow! Ahhh! :)
ReplyDeleteHope it went well! Can't wait to ready your race report!
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