This is going to be the first of several posts - I hope you'll check out each of them called "My Chicago Plan"
As you know, my hip/quad/toe have been hurting -sigh, it's making me cranky. As you also know, next weekend I'm doing a half marathon that I'm feeling considerably unprepared for (this is more of a confidence thing I think than actual physical preparation - I've been training for halfs since February and did a half in May). So what is contributing to my fear of failure for my upcoming Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half?
1. I'm doing it sans "C" -YIKES!
2. I'm doing it with a fantastic new friend that I've never run with before - she's quite possibly a LOT faster than I am.
3. My last 2 twelve mile training runs have been CRAPTASTIC runs - ohhhh my there are no words to describe it.
4. I've gotten a lot faster (for me) but at the sacrifice of being able to go further - hmmm, that's not suppose to work like that I don't think!
5. I'm a little banged up with some hip, leg, and toe pain.
SOOOOOO, I saw THIS blog post on Runners' World and I feel a LOT better. The first part of the article (before the "clause") . I STRONGLY suggest you jump over to the article HERE and check it out. I'll wait - take your time, soak it all in. You may ask, "What's so exciting about that post?" Well, unless you live in Australia (not naming any names down there Sammy who writes Happy Family, Healthy Family), or if you are checking in from the German mountains (like Allie from That Girl is a Running Fool) then you know it's been HOT. My runs, although I have gotten every single one done, have been SLOW - painfully slow. The Runner's World blog post made me feel better that even though the runs have been SLOW, they still count and will still help me do well in my half. Shew - that's good news!
The next post will be my "totally NOT me" strategy to maximize the fun and success during the race - you won't want to miss it!!!
This is so true--the heat really makes a difference in our running. If you cover 10 miles in heat, it's like running 12+ in ideal conditions!
ReplyDeleteIts starting to get hot now here too!! It's still winter, but yesterday got to a balmy 24 degrees celcius! I think it is going to be a very very hot summer.
ReplyDeleteI think the excitement of the race will help you do better than you think you will due to the amount of training you've put in and the less-than-confidence-building runs you've had.
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