“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:31.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

4 days and counting....

First of all I want to say a HUGE Congratulations to all of you who ran the Boston Marathon!! You are amazing!!

It has been a super busy few days.  I am behind on everything, work, laundry, reading, blogging, eating, sleeping.....you get the point.
This past Saturday I ran the Foot Pursuit 5k.  I placed first in my Age Group at 24:45. I was going for a PR  and missed it by 2 seconds.... Oh well. It was a fun race put on by my friend Linda and the race raised over $2000 for the Special Olympics. 
I will be adding some extra speed work into my training after the Half this weekend to hopefully get my 5k time under 24 mins.

Speaking of the half this weekend, only 4 days left until the Nashville Country Music Half....I am really nervous...like dry mouth, nauseous, pitting out just thinking about it...nervous.  I wasn't this nervous before the last two Half marathons that I ran.  I think I am putting too much a little more pressure on myself this time.  The first Half I ran, I went into with no expectations or time constraints. I just wanted to finish.  The second one I missed my goal of a sub 2 hour by 1min 44sec.....and I strained my IT Band.
Saturday night I had a dream that I was running the Half and I was staring at my Garmin and no matter how fast I ran I could not get my pace under 9:30......I woke up pretty freaked out.  I never have anxiety dreams. 
I ran my last big training run on Sunday. A 12 miler that started off rough and turned into an 11 miler.  That run didn't do anything for my confidence....yesterday I did an easy 2 miles, this evening I will do an easy 4 miles, tomorrow I will do a 30 min tempo run and then Thursday and Friday I will freak out rest.

My friend and running buddy Angie put a race care package together for me yesterday that included everything I will need for race day, GU, new race socks, kleenex(because the porta-potties are ALWAYS out of T.P.), sanitizer wipes, my favorite cherry Laffy Taffy(for after the race) and some other great goodies!!  Angie has really been a huge support and it is nice to have someone to keep me accountable as race day approaches.  Especially when normally I would be feeding my anxiety like a mad woman, Angie continually reminds me to eat clean.  And I have been eating clean....... for about 2 days....;)

The rest of the week I will be focusing on peace.  I am happy to serve a God who is the Prince of peace!

What do you do to calm your nerves before a big race?

If you're new to my blog, welcome! If you're not new, thanks for stopping by!  I love reading your comments and feedback!

Grace and peace,

10 comments:

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Congrats on the AG Win! So cool. You are going to do great this weekend! Try to relax and have fun!

RunToTheFinish said...

I don't run a lot of races because I get myself all worked up...but once race day gets there I can slow down and try to just take it all in and remember I did this for the whole journey!

Nashville is such a fun race too!

Judi said...

I know the feeling! I just talked about it on my race report from a 5K on Saturday! I haven't figured out how to calm my nerves! My next race is a 1/2 and I really do need to figure out how to relax before it! As with most things in my life the more I prepare everything out in my mind the better I do. You'd think after running a good amount of races I wouldn't get so nervous! At least I know I am not alone in this! Good luck!

misszippy said...

You're going to have a great race--just look at how you performed at the 5k; use that as a confidence booster. And I think it's good you "only" got in 11 since you're so close to your race. Rest up and be ready!

Jameson said...

I think you'll be more than fine! Run strong!

Unknown said...

I honestly hope you don't put so much pressure on yourself that you aren't able to enjoy it. HAVE FUN!!!

ajh said...

Great job on the age group win! That is awesome!

Erica said...

your going to be great this weekend!! Don't waste all that energy on stressing it!!

Momma Twitch said...

Awesome job on the win!! YOu'll do great, no worries. :)

Julie said...

Hi April,
Woo hoo, congrats on your first place age group win!! That is fantastic...you will have that 5k time down before you know it:)

I just had a half marathon last weekend and I was so nervous too!! Is your race going to have pacers? If they do I would say use them. It is such a big help running with an experienced runner...they will help you to stay on task. You are doing so good with your running, I am sure that you are going to be just fine:) Remember a little nervousness is healthy!! Good luck April!

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