It never gets any less nerve wracking.
I go back and forth between thinking I'm prepared to run a PR race, and then I get massive nerves thinking that maybe I'm not quite there. It hasn't been a perfect training cycle (are they ever?), but I know that I put in great effort and I'm in very good shape right now. I had a biometric screening done for my health insurance this morning, and I'm at my ideal racing weight and my blood pressure was great, and I'm really pleased with that! I haven't weighed myself once during this cycle, so to see my efforts quantified with the number I was hoping for is a confidence boost.
Since my peak week of training, I've focused on less volume and intensity to repair my body and prepare it for the stress of 26.2 miles. Last Thursday was our Turkey Trot 5 miler, and my plan wasn't to race it but to get into a groove and just cruise at a difficult pace and finish feeling good. The start of the race was very congested and there were many people in front of me running over 10 minute per mile pace, while I had planned to run about 8:15-8:30. So that first mile was all over the place for me, dodging past people when I could and hoping for an opening in the crowd to settle in. It took about a half mile before the crowd opened up and I could finally relax a bit. First mile was an 8:16, which was quicker than I expected. Mile 2 was definitely faster than I had wanted to run, at 7:48, so I backed off for the next couple miles, running 8:05 and 8:06. I still felt pretty good, like I could continue to run that pace without overdoing it for the rest of race. Last mile came in at 7:50 so I averaged about 8:00 overall. I was very pleased that my average heartrate was 153 and I never hit zone 5. Two years ago I ran a faster race, but I was still over two weeks out from my marathon, so I felt like I could run all out then, while this time I knew that just wouldn't be necessary or really smart for me. Feeling good at 8:00 pace ten days before CIM seems pretty great to me! I didn't feel any weird pains or muscle tightness, so I know my taper is going well.
But then there's always that one run in the taper that screws with your head. That was my easy run this past Saturday morning. It was 73 degrees and extremely humid out. Not quite as bad as our summer, but way warmer than what we've typically been running in for the last couple months. To be honest, I felt like total crap on that run. My heartrate was too high (I didn't even look during the run, but analyzed after) and my breathing sucked. Fortunately, however, yesterday's easy 10 miler was a million times better. It was 30 degrees cooler and only about 40% humidity (exactly what I want for race day). I got stronger as the run progressed, and it was my last longish run of the cycle.
I do, however, feel like I might have a touch of tendinitis in my left heel. It's staying at bay, and I'm hoping the rest after the race will help it to settle down. I didn't feel it during the Turkey Trot, but I did feel it during my weekend runs. Funny enough, it's always my right side that bugs me, so to have a pain on my left side is different. My right side isn't giving me any trouble right now!
For this week, I'll only be running easy pace, with maybe a few strides thrown into tomorrow's run. Now is the time for me to continue to baby my body - sleeping well, eating well, hydrating, foam rolling, icing, and relaxing. I got a deep tissue massage last Tuesday and it was absolutely wonderful. I've scheduled my next massage for 3 days after the race, and I have a feeling I might start getting addicted to these massages. Sorry, Greg!
I travel to Sacramento on Friday morning, and Greg will follow that night. I am staying right near the finish line and I know being in that area will get me excited for the race. Seeing the finish line set up is always a boost, plus there's the Capitol 5k on Saturday morning (I'm not running, but will probably go cheer). I've got dinner reservations for Saturday night, and my girlfriend from the Austin area who is running is joining us. I'll be laying low most of Saturday trying to shake my nerves and getting my game face on. I have a really big goal for this race and I definitely need to dial in my focus.
Sunday morning will start super early. The bus to the start line leaves at 5am! That's going to be a little rough, but it was similar in Mississippi two years ago, so I know what to expect. I'm glad that they allow us to hang out on the bus until we have to get to the corrals, because it will be pretty chilly and the rain forecast keeps going back and forth every time I check the weather. I think I might actually prefer a little rain as I tend to naturally speed up. I don't think we are going to have any issue with the temperature during the race as it should stay in the 40s to low 50s the entire time. That's a huge weight off my shoulders. When the Boston forecast shifted from cold rain to warm, sunny, and humid, it totally sucked. One of the reasons that I picked CIM is that the weather is almost always ideal for the race. It appears that this year will be no different.
In other words, I don't have any reason to hold back. Balls to the wall with a BQ as the goal!
If anyone is interested in tracking, they do have runner tracking with the details on the race home page. There's even an app, and I think the app shows 5K splits. I'm working on my pacing plan right now, and if I keep my 5K splits between 26 and 27 minutes I'll hit my goal. That's a lot of 27 minute 5Ks to string together!
About a month ago, I stopped getting sucked into social media. The negativity was just not good for my mental health and I needed to focus on taking better care of myself while heading into the most intense week of training. It's still been quite a stressful month, unfortunately. My daughter has regressed with her struggles and we've put a lot of time, effort, and money into figuring out how to turn the ship back around. Being on edge wondering when things are going to go downhill again is extremely exhausting. On top of that, she sprained her ankle and damaged her ligaments right before Thanksgiving break, which means a boot for six weeks. And then ON TOP OF THAT, she found out the next day that her favorite teacher was having sex with a 17 year old student in her classroom and has been fired and arrested. My poor kid doesn't need anymore bullshit to deal with, and we don't need anymore hysterical episodes to navigate. AND THEN, I found out the version of a medication I'm taking is no longer being covered by my insurance, and now I need to fight for that.
Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't completely lost my shit, because there are times I wonder how much longer I can deal with this. So while I have checked into some Facebook pages (the race, my kids' schools, etc), I'm not participating in any dialogue and avoiding checking Messenger. Texting is my go-to communication right now, and it's working for me.
Six more days!!
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