Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Day 50: It's the final countdown

That song is in your head now, isn't it?  You're welcome.  

The Shamrock Marathon is four days away.  That's not even a whole hand to count with.  The race week jitters are in full effect...I'm washing my hands, drinking water, and checking the weather forecast with obsessive compulsion.  Emails and Facebook posts by J&A Racing and other Shamrockers give me chills.  I've been nauseous most of the week, which is either the manifestation of pure dread, or just rot gut from the plethora of pills I've been popping.

I've been spending some time on Pinterest each night, reading any and every article related to surviving your first marathon.  I got my hands on a copy of the running documentary, "Spirit of the Marathon," which I plan to watch sometime between now and Sunday.  I'll be going to listen to running legend Bart Yasso speak at the Shamrock expo Friday night, ready to absorb every word he says.  I'm in Psych Yourself Up Mode, and this is where you come in.

I've mentioned a few times that I feel so many similarities between training for a marathon and preparing for the birth of a child.  There's excitement, of course, and there's nervousness, anxiety, and the feeling of "Oh my God, how am I going to do this???"  When you're having a baby, your family and friends throw you a shower to celebrate how far you've come.  And quite often, they give you advice on how to get through the home stretch and beyond.  So I've decided to throw myself a little virtual shower of sorts, and you're all invited.  There will be no crustless finger sandwiches, boozeless punch, or gift registries (although if you'd like to buy me some new running gear, I certainly won't stop you!).  All I ask is that you leave a few words of advice and/or encouragement to help me get to that finish line.  Share an experience, words of wisdom, or just a funny meme that will make me laugh.  Basically, anything that will keep me from going off the rails on this crazy train.  

At least my crazy train has a really nice caboose...

And if you have any desire at all to come out on Sunday and be a spectator, click on this link for all of the race info, including a course map.  

keep calm and shamrock on - Google Search

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