Sometimes the blog post inspires the title, sometimes the title comes first and a post is born. This weekend, the first song that popped up on Pandora as I headed out for an easy run was Dave Matthews' "So Damn Lucky," and this post started writing itself in my head as I put one foot in front of the other.
It's race week, which means I am out of my mind. Every emotion sits bubbling at the surface, ready to boil over with the slightest provocation. The familiar nervous pit is in my stomach, but my heart pounds with excitement that in less than a week, I'll be standing in a big tent on the beach, beer in one hand, Irish stew in the other, shiny new medal around my neck, hugging my favorite stinky people in celebration of surviving another winter training cycle.
I'm feeling so damn lucky that I'm healthy and get to step up to not one, but TWO starting lines this weekend. I get to cross TWO finish lines. I get to run beside my daughter for her first 8k. I get to hear the crowd go nuts when she comes down the homestretch to the finish. Then I get to watch my other fierce little lady tackle her 1 mile race with her dad. On Saturday, I get to be coach and cheerleader. Saturday is for my girls.
Sunday though. Sunday is mine. Unlike every Shamrock I've done until this point, Sunday is the beginning instead of the end. This training cycle has been about building up strong, healthy mileage, not about gaining speed. I'm not looking to PR at Shamrock...I'm looking to run a smart race and cross that finish line feeling strong and hungry for more. I feel my running foundation is solid and my mind is in a great place right now, and it's incredibly exciting to think that Shamrock is a starting point for me instead of a goal race this time around.
I will do what I can with what I have, and while I have a time range I feel is reasonable, whatever the time on the clock reads when I cross the finish line is where I am right now. The two weeks it took to recover from the 100k relay last month is still fresh in my mind, so I'll be kind to my body through the month of March, but once April hits, it's game on! My plan is to carefully add in some speed work and hills to prepare me for the Gorges Ithaca Half in June, and maybe just maybe work my way to a sub-1:40 in the fall. I have learned a tremendous lesson in patience over the past few months, and as long as I don't let myself get caught up in the excitement of trying to kill every single run, I think I'll have a very satisfying running future ahead of me.
Best of luck to everyone running this weekend!!!
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