2010 New England Relay!

I actually am faking enthusiasm.  Well, just a little bit.  I’ve mentioned the idea of the Community Running board (plus Brian) to host a relay in line with the growing number of them like Reach the Beach or the original, Hood to Coast (now sponsored by Nike).  I’m a little disappointed by the fact that I can’t do the pilot/test run, as it is the same weekend of both the Hyannis Sprint Tri 1 and my trip to Iceland, but I know the alternatives will be well worth it.  There’s always a chance I could come back in 2010 and run the first official New England Relay!

So in lieu of running the pilot year, today, to help Robin out and to at least think about running while I’m tapering, I offered to ride with her as she drove part of the course.  We ended up covering about 50 miles at the start of the proposed course (though, for logistics, we cut it down to 44 or so) with some nice, bucolic stretches of pretty, rolling roads to run on, and the fresh air and cute, tiny towns were a good change.

It was also really good talking to Robin, who I haven’t chatted with at length in a while.  She’s the captain of the team heading out to Reno for the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey that a bunch of us are doing at the end of May, and it’s always nice to chat about how training’s going or what seems to be working for her.  I got a chance to vent (that’s not really the right word) about the upcoming race in New Jersey, which Robin was actually going to run, until overtraining stressed her legs out a bit much.  She’s actually going to be coming down from White Plains the morning of the race and will be there to cheer me on!  I explained the continuing calm I am feeling leading up to this race, and the idea that I’m trying to ingrain in myself – that I’ve done the work, and if I look at the race like a job, and just go out and run my splits, it should all work out.  Like everybody else I’ve talked to, she seems to fully believe I can reach my goals on May 3.

So, as promised, I’m finally revealing my tiered set of personal goals I’m shooting for.  I was thinking about it more and more, and I realized that there aren’t any real rewards I could get myself as rewards, and that, like people have been telling me for a while now, that personal satisfaction might be the biggest prize.  In that vein, I’m opting to keep it purely based on that, because at this point, I think I can admit to myself that all the work I’ve done leading into this run should in itself be worth the mark I cross the line in – ie, to be redundant, reaching my goal will its own reward.  So instead, I am listing the corresponding levels of satisfaction or the most prominent emotion I will probably feel from various performances.

1. <3:11:00 (7:17.4 pace) – relief for getting under the wire but satisfaction for having done it
2. <3:10:00 (7:15.1 pace) – contentment
3. <3:09:00 (7:12.8 pace) – excitement
4. <3:08:00 (7:10.5 pace) – surprise

Oh, and I’ve decided to go with the bright green racing shirt.  See you after the race.

Complacent

I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t be stressed out about this race coming up in 6 days, but I think I might have gone too far.  That is to say I think I’ve gone beyond not being stressed out into the realm of complacency.  I feel that at this point I’ll toe the line on Sunday and think of it mechanically, just hitting my splits the way I need to and not worrying about anything else.

So today’s workout at MIT was a simple one for me – a 3 x 1 mile set at race pace with rest in between, just to get my body in tune with what it should feel like.  Brian gave me the pace of 7:10 – a little faster that qualifying pace – and I hit 6:55, 7:11, and 7:12, though the last one was with a Garmin.  I wonder if I shouldn’t have been eyeing my watch the entire time, but I did and hope that it won’t matter too much come race day.

Gouthan was kind enough to lend me his new Garmin 405 CX which will be a life saver when it’s time for me to race.  Scotty suggested putting the thing on its Virtual Pacer mode to tell me how far ahead or behind I am pace.  I hope, though, that I’ll be able to fully figure out how to use the thing before it’s time to go.

I finally asked Brian if he wanted to play the game where he guessed my finishing time.  He had guessed Ashley’s within 2 seconds (3:20:14) and Stephanie’s spot on (3:30:00), so I’m hoping that it’s all based on his highly fine-tuned running brain, because he had me pegged at a 3:09:40, which is, I think a solid goal.  I tell people that 3:10 is the magic number, but I would like to be under it, and not have to use that extra 59 seconds that the BAA lets people have.  Brian’s projection also falls in line with the personal goals I’m setting, which I will discuss in more detail in the upcoming days.

I leave for New York on Thursday morning, then down to Long Branch on Saturday afternoon with Albert.  We might go see the new Wolverine movie that night.  The weather is being forecast right now as a low of 50 and a high of 60 with a few showers.  This was pretty much what it was like last year when the weather was perfect.

Soaring (Temperatures)

The temperature on Jimmy’s car thermometer read 89 prior to heading out today.  Even though I’m pretty sure it errs on the higher side – it was probably closer to 85 today – I knew it was especially silly for me to try to get some miles in at 2:30 PM, the hottest part of the day.  Still, I had it set in my mind that I had to do my mileage today, so I set out to try to do eight, while Jimmy took his bike out for a 20 mile ride.

Yesterday, when the weather was perfect for riding at about 65 degrees, we took both our bikes out for a nice 22 miler (out and back) on the North County Trailway in Westchester County.  The whole path is about 22 miles in one direction, but we started at the access point in Millwood and went north from there.  It’s a really nice path that’s shaded with tree cover when the trees are blooming, but since that’s still a couple weeks away the sun was somewhat intense today.  Yesterday had been a different story, and the bike ride, which was at an easy clip for about 80% of it, felt good in the cooler temperatures.

From the access point, I ran about 3 miles north to a pedestrian trellis bridge that went over a reservoir.  Apparently the thing to do back in the day to leap from the bridge into the water, and with the heat like it was today I could imagine how wonderful it must have been (though swimming in a reservoir might be a bit risky).  Jimmy, who had biked a ways dropped off some Vitamin water shortly after and I took my time to really relax before heading back.  The heat was already getting to me, and even though my pace must have been about 8:30/mi I was exhausted and overheated.

The hydration put the wind back into me, and after I stripped down to only my shorts I tried to pick up the jog once more, but only made it about another mile before deciding that I’d rather not push myself.  I’m at the point where I think less is more, and at the risk of being tuckered out, I chose to walk the last two miles back to the car.  Even then the heat was something fierce, and only after a half a mile or so did I feel relaxed (though still warm).  The slight hangover I was feeling from the night before probably didn’t help, but I can only hope that the last forecast for next Sunday stays right where it is: high of 60, partly cloudy.  If anything, I could stand it being a little cooler, but I imagine that at 7:30 in the morning the low of 51 is more applicable and that the beach/ocean will help with that.

So I obviously had a lot of time on my run/walk this afternoon.  And, while I understood that many negative factors were preventing the workout from taking place, I did come to the realization that as much as I’d like to, being apathetic about the upcoming race (or ignoring it) probably isn’t the best idea since, it could easily lead to me rationalizing slowing down one way or the other.  I mean, it really is time for me to be emotionally and mentally invested in a race, even if it risks being disappointed at the finish line.  All I can do is remain positive about the situation and confident in my abilities.  

Today was one bad workout in the weeks and weeks that I have trained!  Looking back at the four months of this training cycle, I realized that it might be the only one that could even come close to being “bad,” (though obviously there’s a valid excuse.  If I were to have one bad workout or one bad run in all the months up to and including the race, I’d rather it be today than next Sunday.  And, as I move forward from here, I remind myself be rereading past entries in this journal that I have put in so much time and effort into solid, good, and even unexpectedly fast runs consistently through the season.  If, leading up to and on the date of the race, I can recall that effort and the feelings of accomplishment associated with each of the many fast long runs, or successful tempo pieces, or spot on pacing intervals, maybe I can be my own inspiration and reach my goals on May 3.

11 Days Out: My Biggest Concerns

I went out for my first run today, tacking on a recovery five two days after running the 20 to pace Amanda.  I was feeling a bit sore today – more so than yesterday, but I guess that’s the norm – and couldn’t decide whether or not to go out.  It was a balmy upper 50s day, and the humidity was like a warming blanket, so it actually wasn’t much of a decision – I hit the roads early for a weekday, at about 1 pm.

As always, the first couple miles felt unsure, but my legs loosened up pretty quickly, and as I told myself just to go easy on the recovery, I found my stride opening up even more.  Though I wanted to do 8, I ended up doing an easy 5, with the last mile at about 6 minute pace (the first 4 were more like 8:30).  Even though I wanted to get in a good sprint (I was envisioning the ending of my race) that was probably too fast, and I must remind myself to take it easy for the remainder of the time before New Jersey.

Wednesday marks 11 days before my race and as Brian puts it, the hay is in the barn.  I guess he means that nothing I between now and race day can positively affect my fitness level the day of the race (but there are a whole lot of things I can do that could injure me).  I’m starting to see things in a different light, and that’s helping me stay relaxed, but driven, about my goals while also making me concerned, or at least aware, of possible issues that can come up between now and then.  Of course I am concerned about things beyond my control, like weather, but I’ve found solace in that ability to change them (though I check the weather incessantly now), but there are also things that span from simple, realistic things, such as what if i get sick?! to other, less probably (and more frightening) things like, what if I’m on a recovery run and I get hit by a car?! I find myself being extra careful on my runs and taking my roommate’s echinacia pills, cough drops, and OJ more than usual.

I am worried though that I will just give up, especially when things get hard, as I imagine them to at miles 21-23 (and beyond).  I’ve come a long way since my first 26.2, and I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned this training season is how to press when things are going tough, and how to make it through an especially rough patch.  Running 20 with Amanda, too, I saw what it means to press and push ans really test yourself, so I hope I can put that much effort and will into a run and have it turn out the way I want it to!

It’s funny because even though I’m not, in other people’s words, the most rational person (I contend that, as a good friend, David put it, I have my own rules for logic that most people don’t understand that seem make things always workout for me), I can, and do, break down the situation for myself as rationally as possible.  I thought about this other day, because Brian is trying to work on my confidence before the race (more on that later), and when I look at it logically, it seems that I should be able to run below 3:10 at the race.  Like any other problem presented to me, I look at all the information I know: when I punch in my half marathon time at New Beford into the McMillan Running Calculator, a harder course on which I ran at about 90%, it produces a qualifier in the full; I’ve run all my training runs fairly comfortably at the paces Brian had on my training plan, or faster, also taken from McMillan; I’ve run as fast at 7:17 pace for over 17 miles without the taper I will be getting prior to NJ; I can pace with runners who just ran qualifying (Mike – 3:07) or near qualifying (Caitlin – 3:11) times on Monday.  There is no logical reason why I shouldn’t be able to do this.

So it’s really just a mental exercise, and I am warming up my brain as much as possible, being calm but aware of the last few days.  I secretly think that Brian is trying to help – he tells me that he thinks I’m a little faster than Caitlin (does he forget he told me the opposite a couple weeks ago?) – and the fact that he, and Amanda, and Greg, and Stephanie, and Marie and Mike, all think it should work out does help, but I am still working it out on my own, trying to focus on positive things and imagining my finish to be positive and happy and hopeful and fulfilling.

*****

Here are some pictures taken by Marathon Foto from the big race, of a couple people that Robin missed:

Just what everybody needs - a picture montage of me and Amanda running!

Vincent in the yellow guide jersey, leading Adrian, a really fast blind runner.

Action shot of Goutham, with Adrian to the right.

Ashley in bright blue and arm warmers. Hope she settled her self-tanner debate.

As always, Mike makes it look like a walk in the park.

Doesn't Caitlin look like she's going fast? Well that's because she is.

2009 Boston Marathon

The morning of the Boston Marathon went off with a BANG! That’s not to say there was a starting gun – if there was, I didn’t hear it – but rather, I’m referring to the sound my knee made when it hit the door frame my my bedroom door.  That was followed but a couple of explicatives and me jumping up and down for a while.  I was rushing around this morning, anxious to get my laundry list of things to do done, before heading out to catch a commuter rail train ride out to Ashland and meet Amanda at mile 4.  The train was leaving Back Bay at 8:56 and I wanted to be sure not to miss it so fed the dog, took a shower, had breakfast and got dressed to be out the door by 8 – with my bright pink but ugly sign in hand – and make it with plenty of time to spare.

The whole line at the ticket counter for the commuter rail was made up of people going to – and not really knowing to get to – various point on the marathon course.  There were annoying teenage girls, who didn’t seem to know how to read a map, a triathlete/marathoner who had 42 km tattooed on his calf, and a crackpot poser guy and gal team who loved to seem like they were big runners (DC is such a runner friendly city) but who wondered out loud how far 42 km was.  Such is life.  I eventually bought my ticket, grabbed a bottle of Vitamen Water for the 50 minute train ride, and boarded when the train finally got there.

I had been anxious, and even stressed, about the 20 miles I was pacing for Amanda, and couldn’t sleep well the night before, finally crashing sometime after 3 AM; I hoped the coffee I had before my shower would last me through the run.  On the train too, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to push after the 16th mile with her, since Brian told me not to go faster that 7:30/mi, which she could want to do.  On the train I was nervous and jittery, but also thought it be better to use up all my anxiety during this race so I would just toe New Jersey without a concern in the world (and just like that, there goes all the anxiety, flying away like a bird).

The train was late, but I still got to Ashland in time to see the elite men run by.  The women, who started a bit earlier, had just zoomed by, I hear – something that was corroborated by Dire Tune’s water bottle lying on the sidewalk, having been thrown what I could only assume was minutes later.  I cheered personally for Ryan Hall, in the lead pack, and coveted the water bottle he tossed aside (some girl who appeared to just be walking down the sidewalk took it instead – not that I would have run with it), then a little later Brian Sell (who I think is way better looking anyway) before the first wave came along.  Standing at mile 4 I was searching for Brian, Greg, Mike Clark, Caitlin, Ashley and then Amanda, but only managed to catch Mike and Caitlin who both seemed excited and confused to see me standing there.  I screamed for them too, and undressed just to see Amanda about 100 yards away – enough time to drop the sign and take off with them.

The first 10-12 miles of my run breezed by – the pace was about 7:40/mile – and it was a lot of fun.  I worked to keep the pace at what Amanda’s pace chart gave her for each mile, using Marie-Claude’s Garmin, which she let me borrow, and ran water and Gatorade for both Amanda and Kristi.  For me, the pace was comfortable enough that I was talking the entire time, and we tried to keep the pace withing 5 seconds of the pacing chart to the best of our abilities.

The turn onto Commonwealth Avenue and the Newton hills proved to be rough for Amanda, who was doing everything she could just to keep it together.  I stayed with her, letting Kristi go, and we worked the pace at about 8:20 for a few more miles, before the wheels started to come undone.  We worked to together to keep Amanda’s spirits high and I know she was trying her best.  We walked a bit going up the last hill, and started to pick up again past BC, turning onto Beacon at about 21/22 on the course (or 18ish for me).  A little before mile 23, we ran into Brian, who was having a hard day himself, and I gave a few more suggestions to shuffle a bit through it.  By mile 23, I just wanted to get the workout over with, so knowing the Brian and Amanda were together at that point, I told them that I would take off, and that they were doing great, before picking it up hard for the last mile (which I ran in 6:50 pace).

Though Community Running wasn’t exactly at mile 24 ( I stopped and looked around), they were at the next block up, where Erin popped out, and I stopped, and said, I’m done, and I’m jumping the fence right before doing so.  It was great having a support team out there (Erin had a change of clothes I gave her…and tequila shots that Mike Clark drank) and it included Goutham, Connie, Robin, Erin, Chris Campbell, Cyrus, Greg McGowen and a few other people I didn’t really know. I stayed and cheered, seeing a bunch of people, some of who’s pictures are below.  Overall, the long run was good – it was a lot of fun, and it felt really comfortable through about 98% of it.  The hardest part for me, really, was having Amanda hit a wall – knowing how fit she is and how much she’s trained and how smart she ran the first half of the race, it sucks to see things fall apart for no discernible reason.  It gives me a perspective, and helps my mindset, in that I understand that somethings are just beyond my control.  If anything, my own performance left me feeling positively about my upcoming race, and boosted my confidence in myself to pace the race on my own.  It also helped in that Amanda showed me what it’s like to push through when things are getting rough.

On a brighter note, at mile 24, Robin had a long lens camera to take some awesome shots during the race.  Here are some of the best ones.

Coach Allison looking good while running as the anchor leg for a team of sight guides for Adrian Broca. They ran this last 12K leg in a speedy 42:45. Erin and Goutham (who ran the second leg) in the background.

Brian had a rough day, but he made time to chat with his cheering section.

Lynne did a great job too - pointing and waving as she glided past.

I love this picture of Stephanie - I think she was happily surprised when she saw us cheering for us. She hit her goal on the nose: 3:30:00

We missed Marie, but she saw us!

Alex sporting the porno moustache!

Sue had a hard time too, but she managed to sprint over to see us with a smile on her face.

Congratulations to all the runners today!

The Things You See

A beautiful day in Boston – mid to upper sixties for most of it – and I needed to get in about 8 miles easy.  I went mid day – at about 4 PM – wearing my brand new bright green Saucony racing shirt.  It was making its debut; the day was so nice I wanted to look cheerful and bright, and what better way than a bright green shirt.  I was going for an easy eight today, with plans to do about the same, or less tomorrow even easier.  I think it would be good to hit 50 miles including the pace work I’m doing for Amanda on Monday, but most of it, like I said, is going to be – and has been – at an easy pace.

Funny, because with the gorgeous day in front of me, and an easy pace on my legs (and no iPod) I was actually able to take a lot it – and boy was there a lot to see.  With the weather so nice, sure, there were a bunch of crazies out there, but I’ll skip the part where I talk about the shirtless guy in jean shorts biking down memorial and instead go on about my celebrity encounter.

I ran past the Royal Sonesta on my normal, eight-mile, out-and-back circuit, and noticed a guy standing around with a stopwatch – the kind you wear around your neck.  He was decked out in som running jacket, like one of the nice fitted ones you get at Boston or New York Marathons.  I found it odd, got a good look at him, and continued on my way.  Fifty yards later, two guys glided past me going east by the yacht club, and I couldn’t help but stare at the one on my left – he had an odd gait and kept his jaw slacked as he ran past.  Wait…was that Ryan Hall?  I’m pretty sure it was.  I seriously considered turning back and double checking, but it makes for a better story if I opt to think I was certain.  Besides, what was I going to do – ask for an autograph?  Yea, I probably would have done that.

Anyway, easy 8 tomorrow, off on Sunday then 20 on Monday.  Should be fun!  A big group of us went over to Vinny T’s for a carbo-loading dinner.  There were something like 25 of us in all (but no Marie, who’s feeling under the weather) and the restaurant was packed with people who had just come from the expo and number pick up.  I’m planning on going on Sunday after an early dinner with Amanda and her friends, and hopefully picking up some fun gear on the cheap.

Late Night Run

Well, not “late night” in the sense of things like Wendy’s late night, but it was late enough by the time I went out for a run today that it was dark from the get go.  Jimmy has been in town since Tuesday, and though I took yesterday off completely, I couldn’t really excuse two off days in a row with so few days before my race.  Still, with Marathon Monday quickly approaching here in Boston, I debated between going easy today, with a pace run tomorrow then easy again on Saturday, or a pace workout today followed by two easy days.  My biggest concern lately has been trying to feel pace, so after mulling about, I opted for a short pace run to try to find that magical 7:15 gait.

I ended up doing 5 miles, with the third one a bit easier, at about 8 min pace.  I’ve been having trouble trying to gauge my speed lately, like I said, so I’m craving the pacing work outs that Brian had us do endlessly a few months ago.  I ended up running the first mile at 7:28, followed by something way too fast, like a 6:54.  Though I felt the difference, I couldn’t tell which one was closer.  On the two miles ending the run, I was a bit closer with a 7:24 followed by a 7:01, but I’m still not confident about being able to hit pace exactly and am wondering if I should find a Garmin to borrow for New Jersey (cause I’m not shelling out 300 for one of my own).

What was good about the run tonight though was that though my legs did feel the mileage, I could tell what a world of good the one day off did for me.  It helped me realize that I’ll be better able to handle the run on May 3 after taking so many days off – that I’ll be stronger and not worn out, and that that should provide me with what I need to sustain a 7:15 pace the entire way.  I like to think about all the long, hard runs that I’ve done this season, while I’m racing because they help me get through tough times on the road.  It helps to think about past accomplishments, as small as they may be – and this season there have been a lot of small ones – but it also helps to think about how I ran them without the benefit of the rest period I’m going to get.

I Don’t Even Realize

It’s beyond the point where going out for a run is just part of my daily routine.  It’s gotten so to be so ingrained in what in my day-to-day life that when I’m going out for a nice recovery run on a sunny day in the mid-50s (like today) I don’t even realize I’m doing it.  Every now and then when the wind blows especially forcefully I’m reminded of my attempted forward movement.  So when I hit the road this afternoon for a nice 5 mile recovery run, I was more engrossed with the current episode of This American Life than I was with the fact that everything felt really good.

These days there are tons of people running around the river if I make it out there after 5 pm – people off from work, but also college kids seemingly stumbling about: I’m happy that people are getting in exercise.  I was actually over-dressed when I went out, thinking that I’d be running too slow to keep myself warm, and that was generally true.  I give credit to those people in shorts and a t-shirt all the time already, but definitely can tell when people are watching me run with all my layers, possibly thinking that I’m a poser runner.  Why do I care what these people think of me?  Okay, I really don’t, since I have judged them and their awkward galloping and their sweat shirts and leggings and fluffy socks that can’t seem to stay up.  I’m always the one who’s judgments are right, but as long as they stay out of my way I won’t start with them.

So I hit 5 on recovery this afternoon, taking it for an easy run, as I look to build my mileage without increasing intensity.  It would be nice to go over 50 miles this week (including next marathon Monday), but I’m keeping these last few weeks flexible bearing in mind my pacing objectives for the 20 I plan to do as my last long run, and my last week of work before I (officially) start my taper.  With that in mind I think I’m going to go on a 10 mile easier run tomorrow in the early afternoon followed by either a recovery of 5-6 or a shorter tempo pace on Thursday and a 8 mile marathon pace run on Friday.  I would then take Saturday and Sunday off in prep for the pacing I’ll do for Amanda.  Jimmy’s in town and I think we’re visiting his sister up in Newburyport tomorrow evening, which would make going to Gretchen’s workout impossible, plus I need to watch that I’m fresh for 4/20.

After Monday I’ll be officially tapering, running 5 or 6 every other day.  I think it’ll be tough, since I’m already getting antsy and since, like I said, sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m running.  It’s refreshing though, since the need to put a little kick in my stride is returning to me – it reminds me of one of the biggest reasons why I enjoy running so much: the feel of easy speed.

This Barn Ain’t Got Much Room Left

I’ve decided that I would stop titling my posts with my weekly accumulated miles because the point is now moot.  The expression (about the last couple of weeks before the race) goes that the hay is in the barn, and though all the hay isn’t in my barn, it doesn’t have much room to fit anymore.  I’m now trying just to finish up what I started so many weeks ago and hit my goals.

There were a lot of people at tonight’s workout.  Many of the runners were there for the pace check workout similar to the one that a few of us did last week, except without the rain.  There was also a good sized group of shorter distance runners in Allison’s group.  The comparably few of us running other marathons had a separate workout – 3 x 1800s with varying paces at 10K, half marathon, and marathon speed.  The outdoor track, which is 400 meters, is much nicer to run on, with larger turns and an easier surface – great to run on when the weather is cooperating, like it was tonight.  The night was actually a perfect night for running, with temperatures hovering on the warmer side of 50.

I ran my pieces mostly with Trevor, with Connie (who says she doesn’t really know paces well) in tow.  I’ve realized Trevor and I are pretty similar in our speed, but that I can usually out kick him.  I mean, he beat pretty outright at New Bedford, but I wasn’t racing him.  What I do respect, though, is that when I watch him run, he seems to be able to put forth so much more effort that I’m able to.  That is, like Brian said, I just haven’t been able to will myself to exert that much.  I see Trevor in pictures of races or at track and I know he’s trying, and when it comes down to it, when it comes time to run, I say things to myself like, I’m going to race conservatively to assure myself that my goals are within reach (much like I did at NB).  Perhaps if I can fully overcome that mental aspect and keep pushing myself to the point where the last mile hurts, but in that good way, I’ll be able to succeed in my aspirations.

With final prep before Boston being laid out, Amanda and I have settled on the Dairy Queen as the pink up point for mile 4.  I told her I would take her at least to mile 20 at about 7:40 and then I’ll see how I can do.  It’s totally her race so if I need to slow down after the top of heartbreak, it’ll all be good.  There’s a group of 25 or so runners who are carbo loading at Vinny-T’s, which is right near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and it should be a good group, with a special appearance by Marie Horchler!  I am excited!

3 Weeks Out – Final Week Total 41

All these miles later and it’s still a shock to me every time I step out the door for a recovery run.  It always starts out feeling like crap and I tend to focus on the negatives of those first few miles, ignoring the fact that I’m supposed to be flushing all that badness out.  By the second half of a recovery run, I start to loosen up (both mentally and physically) and feel better.  I think it will be key to be loose in the beginning of my 26.2 and to stay positive throughout.  I hope I have a list of jokes to look through when times get tough.

My recovery today marked 3 weeks before that marathon thing.  I’m feeling mixed right now, because as much as I write about it, or think about, or talk about it (to whoever is listening) the more I convince myself of both my ability to reach my goals and the distinct possibility that it might just not be my day.  I think it’s time to have a great race, but I need my whole self on board to do that, and the more I analyze the possibilities, the more stressed out and anxious I get!  So, in a very typical move on my part, I have decided that from here on out I am going to try my best to ignore the time goal in my brain, ignore the many possibilities that might happen, and finish up my training strong and healthy.  That’s the best that I can do right now.