I know that I am still highlighting many of the last 20 days adventures out and about, but I wanted to take some time to brush up with the present. Sometime last year I entered the lottery system for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, a race to be run on April 11th. I hadn’t thought much of it till I got the confirmation in February that I got into the race and would be running. This is very exciting for me. Last year I missed the day to register and registration filled up in only a few hours. I really had wanted to run in this race, which like the MCM, circles the highlights of the Nation’s capital. It also is during one of the most beautiful times of year here in the DC area, the cherry blossoms. I love the Cherry Blossom Festival. I have gone for the past four years and I always enjoy those beautiful blooming trees. It really is one of the better DC events. So this year I was allotted a space among approximately 15,000 runners, some competitive and others not. This race is a bit of a big deal for me for several reasons.
The first and foremost is that there is a time limit, which makes me nervous even though I am confident in my abilities, of 2 hours and 20 minutes after the 7:40 am start time. I hate time limited courses. I tend to push harder than I’d like to because of it; I get neurotic with the time. But I am promising myself that I know I can do this in the allotted time and I will be fine and try not to run too hard. This is my first race where I am not just running to run to finish. I have a time goal. Time goals are these lofty wonderful ideas that you get in your head and think, oh this should be good. They are often only semi-based in reality, which I see as a good thing. I am not a fast runner, but if I can maintain 10 min miles throughout the whole thing (which is easier than it sounds) I will be able to finish in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Now if I can, just maybe, cut a few of those miles to 8 or 9 minutes, I have the chance to finish in 1 hour and 20-30 minutes. Let’s be clear, my time goal is 1:45, but my dream time goal is 1:35.
However, I will be happy to finish with whatever time I get, for I know it is more about stepping up to the plate and trying rather than the score. I am a slow runner, so I am not expecting a miracle, but I am hoping for a PR. Any way around it I am very excited. I have made a list of things I’ll need and checked over it at least 10 times now. I have washed my race day clothes and will not wear them again before hand. I will pack my bags on Friday night. I will go to sleep early on Saturday and eat a light breakfast Sunday morning. I will myself to be prepared, ready, and able to run. Though, now that I said that everything will fall apart.
The second reason this race is a big deal is this is the first time before a race that I am doing the whole “taper” thing. So right now it’s interesting to be doing not much running at all, before I run a whole big bunch. In the week(s) preceding a race you should always taper. To taper means to means you run less and rest more in the week or weeks preceding a big race. For me this has been a hard thing to grasp, especially since often my training schedule can get mixed up from illness or injury. I really like this quote from a Runner’s World article on tapering, so I am splicing it in here, “So many runners train hard right up to the day of the marathon because they're desperately afraid of losing fitness if they don't," says Patti Finke, co-director of the Portland (Oregon) Marathon Clinic. "What they don't realize is that in those last few weeks it's the rest more than the work that makes you strong. And you don't lose fitness in 3 weeks of tapering. In fact, studies show that your aerobic capacity, the best gauge of fitness, doesn't change at all." Tapering is very important, but it often is a hard and sometimes costly lesson to learn for runners. When you decrease your mileage and drills (speed work, hills, tempo runs, etc) before a race, it allows your body time to do some healing and prepare you to be the best you can be on race day. This time is also when runners tend to injure themselves by acting stupidly. During the taper period, you will feel strange and probably mildly mentally uncomfortable with the decrease in mileage. However, if you can get past these thoughts you are setting yourself up to be stronger when the time comes. So right now I am in taper mode. Since Sunday I have only used the elliptical and run 2.5 miles. Today I am going to try and bike some this evening, run 3 miles tomorrow, and do the elliptical again on Friday. Saturday I will probably bike, in a leisurely fashion, and rest. This type of lax training the week before the race, will keep your endurance up while not risking injury and letting your body and mind prepare.
Anyway back to my pre-race thoughts. And speaking of which, I now realize that I probably should do a post-race blog to capture adequately my feelings, emotions, and thoughts on race day. The third reason this race is a major one for me is that it’s the first (I mean really, the very first) one I am running without any family members being there. I have only technically run 6 races in my life, and my family has either participated in them with me or been there for support on every one. So for me this is proving ground, a little bit. I have relied on them during these races extensively for things, but this time it’s all on me. This may not seem like a big deal to other more accomplished runners, and yes I will have friends there showing their support, but it is still a big deal for me. This is the first race where I have to be self reliant. I need to make sure that I have everything packed and ready the night before. I need to remember to set my alarm and wake up on my own. I need to check my bag at a bag drop off area. I have to remember all the little things that they remember for me. I am actually scared about doing it without them there! I know I will be fine, but it will be strange not to have them there. I love you guys and you always make my races more enjoyable. Plus who am I going to text where I am to during the race now! Yes, I am one of those runners who runs with her phone, deal with it. So this will be a new experience for me. I can only say that I hope I am pleasantly surprised with my self-sufficiency.
Let me end on this note. I am very excited for this race. I love running more than anything else in the world and so I especially love races. I love the surge of adrenaline that motivates you. I love not sleeping at all the night before because you’re so pumped and the Rocky theme song is blaring through your brain like a fire alarm. I love packing and re-packing my race bag. But the moment I love most about racing, is standing and waiting at the start line. I love finishing, but the start is where you have to lay it all down. It is the essence of commitment. My stomach gets butterflies just thinking about it. The way runners get about races can seem so idiotic to the non-runner, but I want to assure you it’s not. Try and imagine one thing that you love to do, whatever it is; going on a vacation, swimming, going to the beach, building a boat, whatever. Right before you do that thing, you get a shot of excitement and nerves. For me the thing that I look forward every day that I wake up is running. So when I have a race approaching I basically become a happy but fretting and admittedly a bit neurotic mess. Runners are strange cats for sure, but we are nice and fun and always have a good time.
So wish me luck!!
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