The race is
Sunday. Oh. My. Heavens.
And yet at
the same time – I’m so ready. Tomorrow my
girl and I go up to get our packets and have a girl day! And then Sunday my family will be at the
finish line when I cross, so my girl can run her 1K.
The
plan was: to run a couple or
three times, keep it short at 2-4 miles per time, and just see what
happens.
The
reality:
Monday – 3.0
miles, 29:48
So where the heck did this come from? Suddenly I’m super-nervous for the race
Sunday. Like, butterflies and weak knees
nervous. Is this really going to stick around all
week? Oh, golly. So, when confronted by irrational anxiety,
what better to do than get out an easy run?
Not sure this helped – my breathing was off, my effort felt rather too
high for the pace, but it did feel good to stretch my legs. Aaaand…. Another Monday run done.
I sat on the porch with my hubby that
night and told him I was suddenly all nervous.
He said, without so much as a thought, “Oh, honey, you’ve got this. Stop it.”
I love that man.
Tuesday –
3.1 miles, 29:27
Better than Monday. “Hardly an impressive distinction, AJ.” (thank you, Aaron Sorkin.)
Back to school means back to swim, and now
with my boy it means back to extra evening swim practices. This meant my run was at 6pm, not my usual
lunch hour or early morning. My evening
runs haven’t been as reliable as earlier in the day – I’m often not as good
about “fueling” as I should be and I pay for it at the end of the day. But this run was okay – I kept a good pace,
just like Monday, but the effort felt easier.
I realized too far along in the route that I could have easily bested my
5K time from June - which is a nice reminder that this summer's work has
prepared me for the race. Just what I needed.
(Only) slightly less nervous...
Thursday
– 3.21 miles, 30:20
Back to swim practice we go. Today I managed to get through the entire day
on a latte, scone, one ounce of cheese and four celery sticks. I did that math as my stomach growled LOUDLY
on the drive to the pool. Oops! So I sat
in the car, listening to news coverage of the Benghazi embassy attack (so very
sad, and such a complicated mess) while I scarfed the yogurt from my briefcase.
Oh, and did I mention it was 80 degrees at
6pm? Yeah. I briefly considered the treadmill, then
realized I would never want to trade away a lovely evening. The heat was already losing its punch; I
started out with a wonky sattelite reading on my Garmin, which meant it was
registering a 6:55 pace (NOT) at a half mile in. Oh yeah, RIGHT. I didn’t get a good sense of my pace and was
moving too fast, but I didn’t catch it until almost 1.5 miles in. Between that fast start and the complete food
failure for the day I ended up walking at mile 2.5 (!!!). But after walking
just a short stretch, I was on pace, in stride, and feeling good. Too bad I was only a quarter mile from the
finish when it all kicked in. J
With that comedy of errors out of the way,
I know I can recover and get back on track.
Yet again, confidence bolstered. I
feel pretty ready for Sunday. Bring it on!
Planned for this week:
Sunday –
RACE. Then – nothing. No plans beyond a
rest week. If things feel good, I might
get out. But it’s time for a break.
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