Positive Thoughts

Thinking Positive Thoughts

A little over a month ago I watched the video of the course for the Manchester Half. It can be a little intimidating hearing the narrator repeatedly say, "This is a tough stretch here," "Steep incline here," "Survive this stretch..." It makes me wish I had chosen a seacoast race - much flatter. But my long runs have been hilly for sure, so my training should be decent. I just have walked parts of the hills recently, and I am psyching myself out a bit. I plan to run my 10 miler this weekend on the meat of the course, so at least I know what's really in store. I am a bit nervous about this because I am afraid a bad run might shake my confidence even more, but my running expert friend says it's always good to run the course ahead of time - shout out to Becka Noe. :)

A head cold this week has crimped my training a little bit. Tuesday I missed boot camp because my equilibrium was a little off, and I didn't want to infect my fellow divas, so I attempted a short treadmill run and did some squats and crunches. Wednesday I helped out at St. Thomas XC practice, so I got a mile in and did another mile and a half that night at Planet Fitness, stretched well, and got some more rest.  I am almost back to feeling 100%, so I am looking forward to a run tomorrow night and a good long run this weekend.

I am starting to freak out about how close the race is. Training has gone way faster than I anticipated. I actually am scheduled to do 9 miles this weekend, but I am trying 10 because I need to see where I am with three weeks to go. I am hoping it's better than I think, but we will see.

Getting over all my doubts isn't easy, but I focus on the positive as much as I can. When I had to walk a chunk of my long run this past weekend because my legs were deadweight, I focused on the fact that my lungs felt great. I also use mantras to keep me trekking. "Just run your race," is my overarching one this time, but I am working on one to get me through the last few weeks.  "You've got this," isn't quite cutting it. I'll let you know what I come up with.