Oh my gosh! 4 days. FOUR DAYS!! That's it. Well, 3 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes (according to the website right this minute). 4 days until I wake up early, throw on my running gear, grab my already packed bag and head out to meet Gracela to take the subway down to the ferry to go meet up with 40,000 other runners and take a several hour long foot tour of New York City. After years of thinking about this and months of preparing, it is finally almost here and that fact is starting to really sink in. I am one of those people who like to be as prepared as possible, likes to be early, and ready for anything. This trait forced me to read the marathon handbook from cover to cover the night it came in the mail (and re-read sections a few times since). I have read blog posts, the marathon website, Runner's World (both the magazine and website), anything I can get my eyes on. It wasn't bad until yesterday when I started getting that pit feeling in my stomach. I told Gracela is completely opposite from me. She knows where she needs to be and when and that's all she cares about. She knows where the expo is, what has worked for her on her long runs, where she's going to meet her friends after the race, where they are eating that night. I wish I could be like her. I am on information overload and I think it may be backfiring. I told her yesterday that I need to distract myself and try to forget that we have this race on Sunday. It's a good thing I have a lot of work to do today and tomorrow. I can bury my head in invoices and marketing plans. That should keep my mind of Sunday, right? Oh, and the fact that I have a lot of cleaning to do tonight before my awesome parents arrive tomorrow night!
I'm not running to hit 4 hours, I am not even setting a time goal for myself. Well, I would love to get in under 5 hours so my name will be in the NY Times on Monday, but if that doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. I just want to take a fun tour of the city (there are so many neighborhoods that I have never been to in the 5 years I've lived here), soak in the atmosphere, and cross the finish line. For my first marathon, is there much wrong with the mind set that this is another long run? Just with a few million people along the route? Even with all the reading I've done, I'm still not really sure what to expect. It's different for everyone and I'm just hoping that my story is one of the good ones!
What do you do to keep nerves down before a big race or event? Any tips?
Have a great day! If you're on the East Coast, I wish you a dry commute this morning!
4 comments:
Sooooooooooooooooo exciting!!!
P.S. Regarding nerves... I went into this really surreal zone out prior to the race. From Friday to Sunday morning you'd have thought I was on drugs, I was so out of it. The whole realization that I was running the marathon just wasn't sinking in...
Lisa,
Good luck on Sunday! I'm a fellow blogger (brand new), a recent first time marathoner, and NYC resident. I ran the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in Albany, N.Y. on October 11, 2009. What an amazing experience. I'm sure NYC is going to be fantastic. I'll be out there cheering on a friend...and maybe even you! Enjoy it!
We had a pre-race clinic last night and got some advice from coaches. The best i took away was to plan for everything and pack the night before. This includes pre, during, and post race clothes, enough Gu's or other carbs, and beverage. Plus taking care of toenails, bodyglide, etc. And make a loose race-plan that you can reassess at certain intervals. (I'm sure you've read a lot about all of that, but give me a call if you want their specific advice) That's all you can do now - you've already done all the hard work to get your legs ready, so now all you have to do is enjoy it - you only get one first marathon! I'm so excited for you!!!
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