Posts in Category: Race Previews
Thankful for race weeks
On this day 11 of my “thankful for” posts, I’ve been thinking a lot about race weeks. The nerves, the joys, the what ifs, the extra plate of spaghetti.
I’ve always loved the few days before a race. They’re opportunities to reflect while also anticipating what could happen.
Today I’ve thought a lot about how race week has lost some of its appeal with me in the past year. It was a year ago yesterday that I ran the Richmond Marathon and decided I needed a break. I’ve enjoyed the break of lower mileage and fewer races, but also getting in some great events along the way.
In this month of expressing my thanks, I’m realizing how much I miss racing and big goals. I miss those early week race nerves. I know that a year ago I put too much pressure on myself at the Richmond Marathon. I had to escape the big goals for a while. I think every runner should.
So on day 11, I’m thankful for race weeks and the feelings and emotions they bring on that I never thought were possible. And I hope I get those feelings back really soon.
Join the Runner’s World Half Marathon and Festival
A collection of bibs and medals from last year’s event
In just a few short weeks, I’ll be heading to the Runner’s World Festival once again. With so many things going on in my life, and my desire to focus on the Richmond Half, I’ve opted to skip out on the half marathon this year and instead do another crazy aspect of the weekend — the Five and Dime.
The Five and Dime is the 5K and 10K, back-to-back, on the Saturday before the half marathon. I don’t know how to really prepare, or how I’ll approach either race, or if I’ll just do it for pure fun, but I’m certainly looking forward to this opportunity for a unique race experience.
I’d love to have you join in. My #RunChat partner Scott will also be there that weekend.
You can register now with a 10% discount code for either the half marathon or the Hat Trick, which consists of the 5K, 10K and the half.
Enter the follow codes when registering:
10% off Half: runningbecauseRWHalf
10% off Hat Trick: runningbecauseRWHat
Race dates are Oct. 19 and 20.
For more information about the Runner’s World Half Marathon and Festival, visit their website.
26.2 for Boston
I feel obligated to run. Just go out the door and run.
Then it hit me today. I wanted to join the Run 26.2 for Boston event on Facebook and hit 26.2 miles for the week when I cross the finish line of Saturday’s Blue Ridge Half Marathon.
No matter where you are or how much you run or what you’re training for, join the online movement to #RunforBoston. Also check out our posts on the #RunChat blog on ways you can help and show your support.
Post your miles. Post your photos in your race shirts. Stand as one.
It’s for the runners.
It’s for the spectators who pack every finish line.
It’s for the volunteers who give us endless hours of help on the course.
It’s for Boston.
If it rains …
Last time I checked, rain doesn’t slow me down. My 10k PR last year was set in the rain; I’ve had a handful of other races that went well in the rain (and snow).
If it rains on Sunday at the Shamrock Half … so what?
Unless it’s windy and pouring rain, showers (which is what is in the forecast … “showers”) won’t make or break what happens. In fact, some light rain might even help. It certainly takes away the mental games that happen.
With temperatures in the low 40s and basically no chance of climbing out of the mid-40s, the weather is almost perfect. Rain has never chopped anyone’s legs off, so there’s no reason to keep thinking and talking about it.
Potentials at Shamrock: Ugly, bad and good
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to be anxious about my 6th Shamrock Half Marathon. Sure I don’t have a time goal, but I do want to have a good race that springboards me into an even better period of training.
Here are 3 scenarios playing out in my head right now as to how this weekend will go. (And maybe I should put a footnote not to take me too seriously, but you will anyway …)
The ugly
Let’s start in reverse with the worst that could happen. I’ve been trying not to compare these past two months of training to years past when I obsess over Shamrock.
Let’s get this out of the way first — there has been no obsessing this year. But over the weekend I thought about how great last year’s training cycle was and how I knew I was going to PR no matter what happened.
From Jan. 1 to race day, I’ve probably run 20% less than a year ago, which taking that factor alone gives me flashbacks to my worst Shamrock experience ever - Shamrock No. 2 in 2008 — when plantar fasciitis settled in and smacked me around to the point I seriously thought I’d DNF.
That’s my ultimate fear and one that rarely crosses my mind.
The bad
I’ve been mentally beat up by a lot of races in the past year. Even the good races had their moments in which I struggled mentally. I believe that I over raced last year even if several of them were used as training races.
That’s the bad that could happen this weekend. I don’t want to get beat up even more. I just want to leave Virginia Beach happier than when I arrived.
The good
Here’s that fine line of being happy because of a certain time and being happy because I raced effectively.
I want to strike a balance. I want a time that gives me confidence; I want to experience that gratification a race can bring knowing I did all I could do for the shape that I’m in.
I know that a PR is most likely not going to happen, but I also know that my legs have a lot to give these days.
Around 9 a.m. Sunday when I’m finishing my celebratory Yuengling on the beach, I’ll be sure to tweet my initial thoughts. They could very be a mixture of all three things at the same time …
The Shamrock goal.
I thought about writing about the weather, but I’d sound just like everyone else (you know … 60s one day, snow the next).
I thought about writing about my lack of speed in the past two months, but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced before after much-needed downtime.
I thought about diving into what I could have (or should have) done differently with the final month or so of training for the Richmond Marathon.
There are a lot of things I’ve thought about in the past couple of weeks when it comes to the Shamrock Half Marathon, but none of it would make sense. If anything, it would sound like a bunch of excuses as to why I’m not setting a goal of a PR this year.
Instead, I’ve turned my focus to how I can run Shamrock in a way that will make my experience a month later at the Blue Ridge Half Marathon better than last year and how I can start focusing now on one my main goals for the year with a 5k PR.
There’s no doubt that the Shamrock Half Marathon is my favorite race tradition. Last year was far and away the best experience of my 5 races there. Getting so close to sub 1:40 was such a thrilling moment that I immediately knew I had to make that a goal for this year.
My voice of reason is here to say, though, that is a really crazy idea right now. With less than 4 weeks to go, I’m not setting that goal.
In fact, I’m not setting a specific time goal. I fully expect to not hit the lap button on my watch for the first half of the race.
It’s a drastic shift for Shamrock, but one I need to do so I can focus on the rest of the year. Sub 1:40 will happen eventually for me, but just in a different age group and maybe in a race not named Shamrock. …
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