image from Saucony's awesome Find Your Strong ad campaign
September 1, 2011
Rachel
Today's mileage: 2.5 miles
Woke up at 5 a.m. and went back to the soft surface track at the high school. It was still dark, there was a warm breeze, I had the track to myself, and I put the Freight Hoppers on the iPod.
It's easier to tell when I finally warm up when I'm running on a track and know exactly when I hit my stride...it's at about 1.5 miles. The first 1.5 miles always feels horrible. By 2-3 miles I've found my rhythm and am starting to feel good.
I stopped at 2.5 miles because I know that this week is not about getting miles in...it's just about moving my body a little each day to stay fresh and focused.
I spent a lot of time visualizing the race during my run this morning. I imagined all the people that will be there cheering me on and wondered if I'll be able to smile and wave when I see them. I reminded myself to START SLOW! There's always the tendency to start a race fast, but there's no reason for me to do that when I have 13 miles to go.
Tomorrow I'll rest. Saturday I'll probably go for a brisk walk at some point and stretch. Sunday morning I want to get up really early so that I have no trouble falling asleep at 9:30 Sunday night, so I might just go to the rec center and stretch and sit in the hot tub.
I can't believe the race is just a few days away!!!
