Attitude Adjustment

Obviously I've known for quite some time now what I was going to be doing on April 14th, but over the past few weeks, as the training has become tedious and exhausting, and as I've been waging war with negative thoughts (and losing), I've kind of lost sight of it.

But this morning, I suddenly remembered.

I'm running a marathon in five days. A marathon that I trained my butt off to qualify for last year. A marathon that I thought I might never qualify for, and that I feel extremely honored to be participating in. A marathon that's held right down the road from where I live, on roads that I've been training on since last summer. A marathon where I'll see lots of familiar faces out on the course - especially those of my family and friends when I cross the finish line.

And even if all that weren't true - still, I'm about to run my third marathon! 26.2 miles. For the third time. That in itself is something to be excited about!!!!

So yeah, I'm starting to turn my attitude around, and starting to get a whole lot happier about things, which is such a huge relief! 

It helped that I had a good run Sunday morning. I wouldn't go so far as to call it great, but it definitely felt a whole lot better than either of my runs last week. I didn't feel like I was struggling the whole time, and I didn't feel quite as worn down, and actually kind of enjoyed myself - a very nice change of pace!

I had a final appointment with my chiropractor this morning. I've been having, literally, a pain in my butt, and it was bothering me quite a bit yesterday afternoon, and he said that's a byproduct of my pelvis being slightly out of alignment - it causes some of the ligaments and tendons to get stretched and they can feel tight and stiff (which is exactly how they've been feeling).

He did a small adjustment today, and said that once I finish the race, and take a week of rest, I should come back and have him check everything, but it's not something that should be a big issue once I'm back to a more normal training schedule.

Other preparations are underway, also. I'm finalizing my playlist, stocked up on bagels and pasta and granola bars at the store today, and have begun my daily check of weather.com. Right now the forecast is calling for a low of 45 and a high of 62. In other words, nearly perfect!

The only thing I'm concerned about is how windy it's going to be. The wind did me in at the New Bedford Half, and while the Gansett course is fabulous, it's also in an area that can be very, very windy. Hopefully we'll have nothing more than a light ocean breeze.

But if it's windy, it's ok. I'll deal with it. And if the weather turns out to be less than perfect, that's ok, too. I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. I just keep repeating that to myself. I've done all I can do to prepare myself for this; now I just have to go out there and get it done.

And I'm finally feeling really excited about the prospect of doing that!  I will run this race, I'll enjoy myself, and I'll cross the finish line with a smile on my face.

Five days and counting......  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

[Laura]

5 days!!! So exciting. I hope the wind is not an issue-- that would not be fun. Sorry to hear about the pain too... do you know Terzah at bqby40.blogspot.com? She had something similar (though more severe as she had to take several weeks off) but she might be helpful. You're gonna be amazing!

[Michelle]

I've never read her blog, but I'll go check it out. I'm sure I'll need some PT and several chiro visits after the marathon to get this all sorted out. Hopefully no time off from running, but we'll see. Thanks!