Today's emotion of the day is Antici.....
...........pation!
(See what I did there? Made you anticipate the end of the word. Genius, right? Bonus points if you can catch the musical movie reference I stole that from)
*Ahem* Moving right along....
Anticipation [an-tis-uh-pey-shuh
n]: Noun.
n]: Noun. 1. Realization in advance; foretaste, 2. expectation or hope.
I am FULL of anticipation about this race. I keep wondering about weather conditions, the race course, the fans on the side, what the medal is going to look like, if I can keep up with one of the pace coaches or if I should just go my own, how my stomach is going to do, if I can make it up the hills, will I need a medic, will I be the last one to finish, can I actually DO this? Ahhh! So many things to think about! But, despite any negative thoughts that sometimes pop into my head, I also anticipate crossing the finish line and having an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. My finish goal is 4 hours. I know a lot of people who finish in 3 hours or so... I don't care. I'm aiming for 4 hours. If it takes less time, power to me, but I want to set a reachable goal for myself.
I'm also trying to decide if I should run with or without a watch on. Sometimes I feel like having the watch on is helpful because I can work a pace and time how long my walk/run breaks are, but then other times I feel like I'm utterly chained to my watch and timing myself. Double -edged sword I guess. Any thoughts on that? I know you're not supposed to change anything up for race day, but it's a thought I'm playing around with for right now.
Going back to my emotion of the day- my feeling of anticipation seems to be a positive emotion as well. I picture myself crossing the finish line, and beating my 4 hour goal. I just have to hold onto this feeling and not let fear/doubt/anxiety creep in come race day.
Oh! And in answer to Kurt's question on my last post, yes, I will be running with music on. I will only have one headphone bud in, but I want to have my own music because I've learned what songs pump me up the most. Maybe in another year or so I can learn to run sans music, but for right now, I feel it's a good option for me.
6 comments:
If you are worried you won't make your time goal, and that is something that is really important to you for this race, you should wear your watch. If the time doesn't matter, then it isn't as big of a deal. I like wearing my watch all the time, especially for longer races. It will be very helpful for your run/walk breaks also. I had a friend who set hers to beep at her for her run/walk intervals so she didn't even have to look at it. The only time I don't is for a shorter race where I know I am going 100% the entire time, so it doesn't really matter how fast I am going when, just that I keep going fast the whole time.
Oh I remember this emotion ohhh soooo well!!!!!
I love your series of emotional posts leading up to your first half (you'll reread these after your 4th, 5th, 10th 90th half marathons - see that, that's confidence that you're not only got to ROCK the race, but that you're going to LOVE it so much you'll just keep doing them!).
I'm a watch fanatic - so much that when I forgot my for that 5K I walked a month ago, I stopped at Target to buy one! Personally, I think it's better to have it and not look at it then it is to want it and not have it. You can always take it off and shove it in your hydration/spi belt or even in your bra if you want to get it out of your mind. Just my opinion.
4 hours - no problemo! You've got this!
**You immediately made me smile with the RHPS reference. Tim Curry is too cool!**
I love this form of anticipation you have going on! I feel like the more I anticipate things and get excited the better the race feels overall!
I'm with you- I always have to run with music. It is amazing how just the right unexpected song at the right time can really help!
Rocky Horror! Love Tim Curry!
You've got this! 4 hour goal is going down! Good luck!
I sent you some blog love! hope your race was amazing. mine was cancelled...dang rain. I ran it in the hotel gym anyway :)
Oh, and your musical reference is Grease 2...right? Or rocky horror picture show. I figure your going for the Halloween theme.
Great post on anticipation! I'd say run with the watch but that's because I tend to run too fast if I'm not watching my pace.
You're going to do great!
Post a Comment