Race day dawns in 11 days, and most days, I don't even remember that I'm training for a race. Sure, I'm logging the miles. Yes, I've contemplated
my attire. Absolutely, I can't wait until tomorrow when I can first see race day on the 10-day forecast. But whereas my first 13.1 absorbed much of my mental focus for weeks, this race is down near the bottom of my mental totem pole. In some ways, this is a good thing. Running half marathon mileage has become a way of life for me, so the difference between "training" and regular life are minimal. I'm a
bit lot more obsessive about logging the exact number of prescribed miles when a race is on the horizon, but the routine of 3 weekday runs plus a weekend long run is just normal at this point. I've also
been so preoccupied with
major life happenings that I don't have much mental space leftover for thinking about the race.
When I do take time to contemplate it, however, I see that training is going well. We ran 11 miles on Sunday, which was our longest run of this training cycle. Throughout the run, I felt strong and pain-free, and the miles passed almost effortlessly. We planned a route with lots of late hills to prepare for the hills at the end of the course, and we kept a good pace even through the inclines. This weekend's long run will only be 7 (I love this point of a training plan when 7 miles feels like a short distance), and then we head into taper week.
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The training plan with weathered edges and very few unchecked boxes:
race day must be near! |
During this training cycle, I've been a
strength training slacker, but I'd otherwise applaud my efforts. I've logged all the miles, maintained a consistent post-run stretching regimen, visited my chiropractor monthly, done yoga a couple times a week, and haven't lost my sanity. At the end of the day, I call that a win.
