Saturday, May 28, 2011

Gearing Up!


It's the morning before the Madison Marathon. Rachel woke me up early and we headed out for an easy 3 mile, a loosening the legs and stretching kind of run. I started "carbo loading" yesterday (including sharing a piece of peanut butter cup cake with Mike!) and I am trying to eat mostly carbs and supplement that with recovery drinks today (plus the coffee I am having now!).

Tomorrow, at this time, I will be 1 hour into the race! Unbelievable! Last night, I tallied the number of miles I have logged over the last 17 weeks in training for this marathon. Guesses?

Okay, I will tell you. Approximately 689 miles, an average of 40 miles a week for 17 weeks. I gotta say, no matter what happens tomorrow morning, I feel proud and ready to race. Looking back on my training, there are many memorable runs- many with amazing runner friends (and dogs!) and some with just me testing my limits, endurance, and spirit.

Tomorrow morning, I plan to wake up with a smile on my face, fresh legs, and an open heart. Somewhere I picked up this mantra and I will use it tomorrow: 1st 10 miles: brain, 2nd 10 miles: body, last 6 miles: heart. Those last 6 are the miles I look forward to the most!