This image is about how my mind is right now---totally scattered. With only TEN DAYS (now nine) left until the marathon, it's hard not to be obsessively focused on it! I can tell now that I'm going to have to get creative with how I distract myself from marathon thoughts with other things.
Last Thursday's run was a good example of a fun distraction. Since it was Halloween, we took a detour down Hanover Avenue in the Fan neighborhood of Richmond. They have a tradition of going all-out with decorations, and it's considered a "destination" for a lot of trick-or-treaters. It was just before 5:00AM when we passed through and local TV stations already had camera crews setup! I also had gotten in some hot pink running capris that I decided to test out for race day. They fit like a glove and I love them! The downside is now I'm on a last-minute search for running undies to go with them. BLAH. A package with 2 pairs luckily came in last night, just in time for this Thursday's run.
Oh, also: my sports massage last week from Muscle Mehanix was so painful but so so good. My legs! I was prepared to wake up with bruises the next day. Although there actually weren't any, it did leave me a little sore so I was glad to have gotten it done earlier in the week.
Friday evening included a Halloween party that I went to briefly with Boyfriend. I drank water and thankfully ended up in bed by 11PM. Have a mentioned how ready I am to have a life of Friday evenings again? I mean, what's that even like? Probably due to lack of sleep, I did something silly and pushed really push the last half of the 15.5 miles on Saturday. You know, just to see how long I could maintain a faster speed. Similar to Saturday before, I focused on starting slow, then WHAM! Reasoning was (I think) I wanted to have the memory of it for when I'm actually racing those last few miles next weekend. Once again, we ran part of the course, a circle starting and ending around mile 21 of it. I felt good, the sun was out, so overall it was a positive training run!
Tuesday's run was somewhat hilly; and we were instructed to do 3 5-mile intervals if we were feeling fresh. Sure, I felt fresh...for the first 30 minutes. From then on, moving each leg and maintaining a normal speed became more of a chore. I completed 2 out of the 3 intervals; and then waddled into the finish with 9.3 miles on my watch. I decided to chalk it up as another great mental exercise. The weather was a bit strange too. I'd say it was mid-40s, but kind of humid, so I felt hot-cold the entire time. All of us are currently praying for freezing weather on race day.
In the way of eating: There have been lots of homemade granola bars! The last batch I made last week will most likely keep me all the way until race day. It's made up of super simple flavors: honey, peanut butter, and bananas. I even adjusted the proportions so that there's more equal parts oats and crispy rice cereal (read: less fiber, more straight carbs).
I ate great breakfasts this past weekend, which unfortunately will have to go imageless...I was starving by the time I finally sat down to eat them! Saturday: homemade breakfast sandwiches with cheddar-chive waffle biscuits, bacon and egg. Sunday, after sleeping in (so good! yeah, time change!), we went to Helen's where I opted for their Country Scramble instead of my usual blueberry pancakes: a salty mess of eggs, cheddar, onions, sausage, and spinach. It was just what I was craving.
Time change has been great for sleeping in Sunday and this week's morning runs, but overall it's taken some getting used to. Mainly, I'm annoyed by getting hungry "earlier" than I'm used too. Hard life! Another positive: the sunsets sure are gorgeous from the office windows!
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