Pre-Race Emotions

So, the Chicago marathon is just days away... no more monthly or weekly countdowns... just six days! At this point, every runner is experiencing a wave of emotions. I thought I would share some of those that I am experiencing.

Excitement. I could not be more excited for this trip. I can't believe it is finally here! I am excited for those who will be there to cheer me on in Chicago, for those who have signed up for the runner updates through e-mail or text messaging and for those who will wait to hear the story when I return.

Nervous. Yes, a little, but who wouldn't be. Even the most elite run or the most carefree runner has some sort of nervousness at this point. Most runners are asking themselves if they trained enough or did they taper too much or not enough. The taper really is critical in the training process. Whereas the focus throughout the majority of training is to accrue mileage each week, the opposite happens for the taper -- sleep, rest, relax, hydrate, fuel -- those are the main components of the taper. For the most part, I am most nervous about staying healthy in the next few days. In the summer, I had no problems running in damp, cool weather. It's too close to race day for that and I worry about what it might trigger in me. I want to be physically healthy too -- rested and well-stretched muscles are key.

Proud. I posted an inspiration board at work for the marathon. Each "milestone" that I achieved - either a long run, race, or an incredible time - recieved a star on the board with the date, length and time of the run. Along the marathon route (map), I would also put a marker for each of those long runs. It's amazing to look at that mileage along and know that I accomplished each of those runs, along with many other shorter runs and walks (Thanks, Nan!). Prior to each run, I would pick a goal time. Intentionally, I set the bar "high". Some of them I was able to beat and others I would just miss by seconds or a few minutes. My longest training run was 22.1 miles. I had a goal time of 3:43:17 (yes, I even picked a random amount of seconds). It was 100% humidity when I ran and therefore, I was much slower than I wanted to run, but for 22.1 miles, I ran and still came through with a 3:53:15 finish, just under 10 minutes over my goal. In comparison to my first marathon, I am well on my way to a strong finish for this marathon.

Sad. This emotion comes in two different ways. I will openly admit that I am already having "withdrawl". Call me crazy, but I have come to enjoy those long runs. It's self-inspiring, knowing that eventually those long runs aren't dreaded, but accepted and anticipated in such a way that is hard to explain to the non-marathon training runner. Most importantly of course, not having Josh there will not be the same. I try to turn that into positive energy and remind myself of the inspiration he has given me to keep doing this day in and day out since March. I know he will be there in spirit and I just hope he's the wind blowing at my back that day!

As you can see, it is a wide range of emotions and a list of which will continue to grow and fluctuate as the marathon draws near, occurs and ends.

So, what is my goal? Quite honestly -- it is to finish and to enjoy the journey. I hemmed and hawed over sharing this, but I will. In regards to time, I am hoping (with fingers crossed) that I will be able to run this marathon an hour faster than my first... finishing at 4:38:16 or under! Yes, it took me 5:38:16 for the Marine Corps in 2006 and I am proud of it! It really would be a huge accomplishment to trim that much time from the run. Regardless though, I will hold my head high knowing that I did it! There are so many factors that play into running performance on race day and most of those won't be known until that day, when the race starts, or even during the race.

For anyone who would like to view the course... They have set-up a sped up video of the course with indicators of the various neighborhoods that we will run through along with a mileage tracker as the video progresses. It is from the 2006 Marathon, so the route may be slightly different, but it is pretty much the same, if I was the following the course map as I watched along. If you look closely in the first mile, at 0.7 miles, the light colored building on the right is the hotel we are staying at! The "blurs" of people on the sidelines show the aid stations throughout the course; however, they have increased the number of aid stations for this year! (YAY!) You can also view the map of the course.

As for the weather... low 60s and partly cloudy!! Perfect!