So we are getting down to the wire now. Only 5 more long runs to go until Race Day!
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While running is an individual sport, you often share really great experiences with other people (usually awesome strangers):
I really enjoy running races because I always have positive experiences with the other athletes (and spectators, too)! Once you get past the pack at the Start Line, and you start to settle into your pace, you often end up running near similar paced athletes for the entire race. There is a certain camaraderie that develops during these long miles. The journey somehow bonds you with these other runners, even if sometimes you play a little bit of cat and mouse along the way. I always seem to make "friends" in this way, even if we never exchange a single word the entire voyage. In my most recent race, the Charles St. 12 Miler, I had two specific runners that I ran nearby for most of the race. There was some back and forth as to who was in front and who was trailing. We struggled up the same hills, we got to experience the same spectators cheering us on with their funny signs, and we were a part of the same "battle". In the end of the Charles St. 12, both of these runners came up to me post-race. The one runner came over to shake my hand and tell me how I helped her get through those hills and that she tried, but couldn't catch me in the end. The other one simply nodded his head and said "great run". Running next to these runners, where we all have the same goal in mind (to finish-maybe in a certain time), is truly an awesome feeling. We are silent motivators for other runners, just as they are for us. We participate in an event that is similar to all involved, but also very different. Just one of the many reasons that running is awesome! Don't run? Try a 5k! Maybe you'll get to experience this awesomeness. I'm just about halfway through training for my Marathon. Let me just take a moment to say "Hooooraayyy!"
As of yesterday, my Full Marathon training began. Lucky for me, my training plan has Mondays as a rest day!
Wow, Race Week is here already! These training months have flown by and now it is time for the Frederick Running Festival Half Marathon! Am I ready for these 13.1 miles? Well, I sure hope so. I did the Baltimore Half Marathon in October, and I completed that race in 1:57. I felt pretty good with that time, especially since I was hardly able to do any training due to an injury. This time around, I found ways to deal with my injury to keep pain at bay, and I stuck to basically 95% of my training plan. With what I will consider successful training, I am hoping to finish around 1:51 this time around. But, my goal is just a new PR by beating my 1:57. Taper Week Plans
What am I packing for Race Day? I have already packed my bag and will probably continue to re-think and over-think if I have everything and if I have the right things. Undoubtedly, I will repack and/or add numerous items before Race Day. In the end, I’m sure I will have way too much stuff for just one day, but I’d rather be over prepared than be disappointed I don’t have something come Race Day. Currently in my bag (as of this moment):
So, now that my bag is packed (kinda), and I have 5 more days until the race, all that is left is to hope I’ve prepared well! Ahhh I am so excited!!! I will be heading to Frederick on Saturday to try to make it to some of the Expo before checking into my hotel. Race Day is Sunday, and I am looking forward to a fun day full of fun and fitness. I can’t wait to share this experience with the 7,000 other participants in the Frederick Running Festival! Here I come 13.1! |
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