Some random stuff to start the week...
- So I have a marathon coming up. Gulp.
- I've heard some good things and some bad things about OC. Good: great views for 1st half, flat course... Bad: boring second half, crowd support wanes at times during race. I'm not sure how much of the scenery matters to me. I mean, I ran the Diamond Valley Lake Marathon where the view is of the lake, it's on your right the entire time. It was a very pretty view but it was the same view the whole time, you know. I think that race helped me deal with things like zero crowd support and static scenery.
- Still, I think I want to make a really good playlist and start it around Mile 10-13ish.
- I'm not 100 percent mentally into this marathon or my training right now, if I'm being honest.
- Proof: I updated my dailymile this morning for the first time in more than a week.
- More proof: I find myself looking for excuses not to run.
- But I ran with my running buddy Dean yesterday and he said the same thing, that he's not 100 percent mentally there either.
- This happened last year after Surf City, when I ran DVL on fumes. It's not quite the same - last year I was fried and needed a break. This year I'm not taking any breaks. I will attack this last week before OC head on, will run a good, strong race and then will gather myself for what will be a busy summer.
- I have the San Francisco Marathon at the end of July to keep me focused. That's a race that I will want to train all-out for, to enter with a full head of steam, and I have faith that I will be 100 percent mentally into it.
- And then I have the Loper season starting in late August, and *then* the Long Beach Marathon on Oct. 7. I have a full year of running, and this little mental obstacle is but a mere speed bump.
- I think I diagnosed my own problem there. This OC Marathon I'm doing for me. The SF Marathon I'm running as part of a team and am running to represent somebody else. For Lopers, I want to set a good example for others. When I do things for me, it's easy for me to just go through the motions. But when I'm doing things for others - whether it's for my family, fellow runners or just others - I tend to put more energy and more desire into it. It's like, I can't let anybody else down but it's easy for me to let myself down. I guess that's just one last character flaw that lingers from the days when I weighed 300-plus pounds.
- I'm doing OC because I can and because I want to run No. 6 and because I want another medal. That's pretty much it. I am physically capable of running a marathon right now, there will come a day when that's not going to be the case so I don't want to cheat myself out of any memories or experiences. I got tired of doing that. My 20s are filled with cheated memories because I was too timid or too scared to try anything worthwhile. So I sat around and got big. I don't want to do that anymore. I'm going to go for this marathon and even if I finish with my slowest time, even if I cry and I have to crawl to the finish line, even if I'm not 100 percent mentally in it, I'm going to do it and I'm going to cross the finish line and get my medal. Plain and simple.
3 comments:
I love your line of thinking. Do it now because you CAN, and because someday you might not be able to. Have a great race in OC!
You will dominate OC like you have every race!
Hey LB, just got around to this post today. You will do great in OC. I ran the full there last year. My advice? Start the play list as soon as the half marathon people make the turn back to the fairgrounds.... It will help you a lot.
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