5 days and counting...
Now that it's officially out in the open, I can tell you that Jess is running the marathon with me on Sunday! In her post today, Jess mentions a few things that ring true and not so true.
- I am afraid. I am afraid not that my friends won't like me if I don't meet a certain time goal, but that I will be disappointed with myself if I don't meet my time goal. TRUE.
- That I have trained well for the marathon and that I am ready. 1/2 TRUE? A few of my friends (Tosha, Wendy and Danielle) have all said this, but for some reason I just don't feel ready. Maybe you just never feel ready for your first marathon? Any marathon? Any 1/2 ironman? Any ironman? Note to self, keep working on that confidence cause I'm not about to stop at the marathon!
- That I am a stronger runner than she is. COMPLETELY FALSE. I am always the first person to be ready to turn back on a run... whether I say it out loud or not. Jess seems like she could stay out there forever!
Are you all sick of hearing out the marathon already? Me too, I'm going to psych myself out! The solution to keeping the nerves in check has been to do the right things for my body this week. Today I made enough trips to the water cooler to fill up the humps of a camel. I also had a deep tissue massage, I needed it but do I ever hurt now! Good thing I have 5 days to recover from the massage. :) I also picked up some Gatorade Endurance. Since I haven't been training with it and it's going to be provided on the course, I figured I better start sipping on it to get my body used to it. Oh, and I'm getting some good sleep!
That's it for now, I appreciate all of your support this last week! Just think, come next week you don't have to hear another word about the marathon... until next year!
posted by Aleks @ 9:29 PM
9 Comments:
At 10:01 PM,
Jessica said…
:-)
Coupla things.
1) I didn't feel well-trained for my first marathon or half Iron, despite following my plans for both to the letter. Obviously, I was. It's impossible to know what is enough before you are tested. You will be tested Sunday. :-)
2) I never turn back because I'm so dead-set on never cheating myself out of a workout. That said, if the plan if four miles, I am DONE at four miles. Same goes for if it's 14 or 24. Whatever the plan is, I'm never ready to be done until the plan is executed fully. This is leftover from 20/20 - they teach you not to cheat yourself out of a workout by calling 55 minutes "an hour" or whatever, and I just really believe that.
3) I'm not going to keep going back and forth saying you're stronger, you saying I'm stronger, etc. I get the last word, and I say you're stronger. So there!
At 11:29 PM,
Kate said…
I obviously don't know who's stronger than whom, but it's pretty obvious from your blog, Aleks, that you are one strong woman! You have trained in so many different places, kept up with long runs, and maintained an incredibly positive (public) persona throughout. A 1:57 first half- that's a STRONG runner. It is so great that you and Jess will be able to work together to overcome your fear and rock your first marathon! I will be reading your archives for inspiration when I finally tackle my first full.
Have a great race!
At 7:35 AM,
Wes said…
It's OK for you to see yourself a little bit through our eyes, sweetie, er um, killer :-) You don't have to believe it, but accept it as true. A little bit of fear will add a spring to your step and energy to your muscles. I experienced that very thing during my referee re-certifications. The fear of failure drove me to finish.
As I said, you will be awesome, and having Jess by your side is really special.
At 1:33 PM,
Mmem said…
Found you via HM Express, and just wanted to say BEST of luck in Seattle!!!!!
(I like hearing about marathon stuff:-))
At 3:03 PM,
Backofpack said…
Aleks,
Saw on Wes's team blog that you are on for Seattle this weekend. Good luck - you'll do great! Maybe we'll cross paths somewhere - although I'm guessing you are much faster than me, so if we do, it'll probably be in the porta potty lines. See you there!
At 8:51 PM,
Jodi said…
Good luck this weekend. Never doubt yourself. Never. You can do this and you are prepared. Visualize the finish and how great it will feel to get that medal!
Have fun!
Jodi
At 7:36 AM,
boatgirl said…
Found you on Team HM Express. You will do great. Especially with Jess with you. I've been lurking her blog for some time and her NYC report was great. You have a great support system and you are so blessed to have friends who will step up with you to achieve a goal. But most importantly, you have it inside of you to do it. Just trust the training, don't give in, and have fun.
At 12:40 PM,
Rose said…
Hi. I also found you through Team HM Express. GOOD LUCK this weekend! But you know, once the marathon is over, you have to tell us about it in minute detail and pictures are a bonus!
At 4:35 PM,
teacherwoman said…
Good luck with the marathon Aleks! I look foward to reading the full post-race report!
Post a Comment
<< Home