I don’t think a taper has ever driven me more nuts that this one, especially this week. The last week of taper is when shit gets real. This really “beautiful, summer-like” weather we’ve been having is causing ridiculous amounts of anxiety, as well as the current race-day forecast – low of 60, high of 80, 70-80% humidity. So much for those perfect conditions the race is known for having.
not ideal
Upon weather stalking, I immediately thought back to all of the long runs done in the heat and humidity this summer, none of which were really that great. And that has caused a cloud of doubt (haha, so punny) to hover over my head. I started re-thinking goals, envisioning the possible carnage that could happen on a warm, humid race day. This entire training cycle I’ve been nothing but positive, feeling confident about my training and realistic about my goals. It seems that I’m doubting everything this week and as much as I try and stop, I can’t.
even a cocktail with my RD buddies didn’t help so much
I was doing yoga this morning in an attempt to de-stress, and good old Baron Baptiste said something that resonated: “We are blessed to be able to twist and turn our bodies into these positions…” (or something like that). And ok, this is corny, but when it all comes down to it, I feel pretty lucky to be able to run. Pretty lucky to have had a great training cycle with an awesome training partner (Betsy!) and to be able to go run this marathon on Sunday. I wasn’t going to say anything, but this weekend marks 4 years since my hospitalization for a could-have-been-fatal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE ) (more here). And if that’s not a kick in the ass to be thankful for simply being here, I don’t know what is.
So whatever happens on race day is going to happen. If goals need to be adjusted, then so be it, but I’m toeing the start line and coming down that finish chute with a smile (or grimace-smile, but whatever).