Random Thoughts for Race Week

Holy cow guys. Race Week is messing with my head. I am all over the spectrum to feeling so freaking ready and so freaking not. I’m having full blown conversations with myself in my head, with one voice high pitched and freaking out about everything, and then the calm reassuring voice telling me everything is going to be great. So, rather than continue down this road to insanity (and in hopes of not having weird looks on my face anymore that concern the man-friend), here are my random thoughts about race day.

I am playing Russian Roulette with emotions lately. One minute I am SO pumped and excited for Saturday, the next I am freaking out about all my little aches and pains. My heel has been  bothering me off and on for a while and the last week or so it’s been pretty persistent. I’m sure that having to spend most of my days on my feet (even though I’m in good shoes) has something to do with it. It feels better when I’m in my running shoes or my work shoes though, so that’s good. I bought some KT Tape, hoping that may helpa smidge. Also, my hip/glutes are still SO sore. I’m pretty sure that had to do with my run on Sunday. I plan on some stretching, rolling and yoga-ing tonight in hopes of loosening it all up.

I’ve been checking the weather obsessively. Monday there was an 80% chance of rain in the afternoon. Then that moved to late in the morning (when I’ll be finishing running), to the full morning. Then yesterday it changed to rain all day, to rain in the afternoon, to a 20% chance of rain. The little rain emoticon was even gone from the forecast. This morning, however, I woke back up to this:

Back to afternoon showers! I know it’ll continue to change and I won’t really know until Saturday morning, but I can’t help myself. That wind is freaking me out, too, though. UVM in June had a headwind of 20 mph and it slowed runners down about 10  min or so (I crossed the line 7 min shy of a BQ). Luckily, this course is mostly SW facing, so it should be a tailwind for the majority of the course. Clouds means a cooler course, so my fears a few weeks ago of overheating won’t be an issue. I’m remaining positive that it’ll start the downpour AFTER I cross the finish line and am tucked away safely back in our hotel room.

I’m also not entirely sure what to wear. I’ve got my shorts and sports bra…and that’s about it. Tank top? T-shirt? I tend to run cold…so long sleeve? What if it does end up raining. Capris? I’ll probably bring a few different options to make a game day decision.

Overall, I think the most overwhelming feeling I have is anxiety. I’m anxious over just about everything and analyzing  E V E R Y T H I N G .

I know that I am capable of running a 3:30 on Saturday and am confident I can do it. I know the hardest thing for me will be the last 6 miles when my legs start to feel fatigued and my brain starts to tell me to walk.

Too far.

I’m incredibly grateful for the race I had at UVM in June. It was the first time I finished a marathon feeling strong and crossed the finish without having to walk, so I KNOW that I can do it. My biggest focus will be keeping my head in the game, being positive and telling my legs to move a little faster then what’s comfortable.

I have NO idea what I’m going to listen to while I run. My last marathon, I had saved up a few “Stuff You Should Know Episodes” but I haven’t been doing that (oops). I think I may just listen to “Serial” all over again. I know for a fact that it will keep me interested, so that may be my best bet.

I am so stoked to meet all the runners! This marathon is shaping up to be the social event of the season and I hope to meet a few readers (come say hi if you recognize me!) and instagrammers! I’m hoping to drag J-Money to a few of the meet-ups if possible. If you don’t already, follow me on instagram as I’ll be posting updates during the weekend.

And those are all my crazy thoughts. Thanks for sticking with me through that! It feels better to get it out of my head 🙂

Happy Wednesday all!

Have you ever run a race in the rain? What do you recommend wearing?

Any advice to keep your head strong, let me hear it! Love hearing from you!