It’s true. I’m feeling pretty nervous, anxious, scared, excited… where ever you want to throw a dart on the emotional spectrum chances are you’ll be close.
The Oakland Running Festival is this Sunday and I haven’t run a full marathon since NYCM 2010. If you have a calculator or Rain Man skills, that’s 1 year, 4 months and 18 days since I last crossed the finish line of a 26.2. Truthfully, I didn’t run or train for long distances in 2011 due to the pregnancy of my wife and birth of my baby girl. “Life is what happens to you
while you’re busy making other plans .” — if it’s good enough for Lennon, it’s good enough for me.
So why am I feeling the pre-race jitters? Well, I think I’m actually ready for this race. I’ve trained properly, tapered well and am familiar with the course. Those are good things, right? Yes, but it also leaves no room for excuse making, or gulp, failure.
I have high expectations in trying to aim for 4:20. That would be shaving 9 minutes off my 26.2 PR and 11 minutes off the time I ran the course in 2010. The target is 4:20, but I’d be happy with up to 4:25. That’s my window, but the end result is still a PR. Anything else would be coming up short.
Having that mindset, might set me up for disappointment, but I’ve been trying to get faster and this is the next step.
Feel free to leave a comment on how you’ve dealt with race day nerves… success?
I get nervous before EVERY race. I just have to keep reminding myself “You’ve trained, you’ve tapered, you’ve got this.”
YOU’VE got this. Now go kick some pavement ;-)
Good luck and have fun! For me, I visualize the race. In my visualization, I am calm, relaxed, and running smooth & strong. I also visualize how I will overcome the challenges that may come up along the way. That way you are prepared for the race. :)
Good luck – you seem ready! I always get nervous too though, so totally get that part…
Hey! we might actually see each other on the course…if my Leg 1 chick is a little faster than she expects and I’m a little faster than I expect. Well, actually we probably won’t see each other out there ‘cuz you’ll be ripping the road to shreds :) I didn’t know you were a new dad! Congrats :)