Filed under: The Race, Training Runs | Tags: days off, dreams, gu, long run, marathon, nerves, Rest Days, running, shoes, short run, Taper
I purchased new shorts and a lovely blue lightweight tech shirt for the race. I tried the shorts out on my last “long” run – eight miles – and, disappointingly, they rode up a little. Most shorts do that when I run, but with a predicted temperature of seventy-three degrees (most runners dress for temperatures twenty degrees warmer than the actual, so do the math on that one), I’m going to go with my capris. I don’t want to be picking cloth away from myself for nearly five hours.
My Asics should be broken in enough. I was thinking of using my Guides, but I’ve done my last three weeks of running in these shoes, so Asics it will be.
I’m having anxiety dreams: I fly to the wrong city. I wake up too late. I get injured at the start of the course. I’ve forgotten my running sneakers.
Lists are beginning to form in my mind: Gu packets. Shoes and clothes. Body glide. Ibuprofen. Socks. Ponytail holders. Headband. (I can’t find my stupid headband!) Course map for friends and family. Watch. Sunblock. Camera.
There are other things I can’t control that I must make myself stop worrying about. Weather’s a big one. I haven’t run in hot weather at all. Worse than that, though, is the idea of a race cancellation. The ten-day weather forecast predicts scattered thundershowers all weekend. I’ve seen those Midwestern storms, and I’ve seen that lightning. It’s out of my hands, I know, but please, please let there be decent weather. I don’t know what I would do if these nine months were all for nothing.
I’ve gotten myself worked up, though, so it’s time to calm down. That’s what the Taper is for: recovery, relaxation, mental preparation. You hardly run, you eat a lot, you try not to obsess.
Six days.
Filed under: Dealing, The Race, Training Runs | Tags: fueling, gu, hills, long run, running, v-day
Kept busy yesterday. Slept in. Attempted to go out for brunch with a friend, gave up, went home and made pancakes. Napped. Ran twelve miles. Stuck my feet in a bucket of ice and watched Criminal Minds for a few hours with my roommate.
The twelve-miler was quite good. I went at night, taking as straight a line as I could to downtown Boston and back. It was one of the better there-and-back routes I’ve taken, with a couple of challenges in the middle: two long, steep hills right before the turn-around – good training for the Pig. There was quite a bit of wind on the way back, and I seemed to hit almost every red light, but I’m quite satisfied with how the run went, as a whole.
I’ll have to keep an eye on my ankles, today. Everything’s a bit stiff, but I can’t detect any actual pain, knock on wood.
On a semi-related note, cold chocolate Gu is delicious. It tastes exactly like brownie batter! I think I’ve found my race fuel.
