I've decided that this week, I'm going to post about my emotions leading up to my first half.
I can assure you that various emotions are making their way through me right now, but I'm going to try and isolate one per day and see how they change as the half gets closer. (Don't worry, it's not going to be a complete vocabulary lesson- there's some actual substance to my posts, I promise!)
The first emotion I choose to acknowledge is:
Enthral [en-thrawl]: verb (used with object) 1. to captivate or charm.
Similar words: absorb, charm, enchant, engage, enslave, fascinate, hook, intrigue, preoccupy, spellbind
I am indeed enthralled, captivated, fascinated, intrigued and preoccupied by this race. And, as we can all well see from my blog, I'm completely absorbed with it also. I've been prepping and training for this race since the beginning of the year- it has literally taken over my life (which is awesome because when things are difficult for me to do, I usually end up giving up). I've worked very hard on increasing my endurance and making sure that I'm not going to completely maim or kill myself when I do walk/run the 13.1 miles. At looking at my Dailymile, I've run 232.14 miles since January 1st of this year. Considering I've NEVER run before in my life, I find that to be a stupendous achievement (and testament to how enthralled I actually have become with this sport). I've also worked hard on learning to enjoy my running. Yes, the distance will be long and the route will be grueling, but as long as I have some awesome music on and keep myself in a positive mindset, I know I can totally rock this race!
I've even become somewhat preoccupied with what I'm going to wear on race day. Taking it a little bit further, setting up a plan on what to eat/drink before I go, what time to wake up that morning so I can be warmed up when I get to the race, making sure I have everything I'm going to need for post-run recovery (protein, electrolytes, ice, an ambulance, margarita in an IV) has taken over a large portion of my waking thoughts. But, none of this is in a bad way- I'm not resentful of these thoughts, they actually make me excitement level kick up a notch.
So, the first of my many emotions is a positive, energetic emotion. That's always nice to see, right? Let's hope it continues on that way.
What are some emotions you felt/do feel leading up to a big race?
5 comments:
Ancy. Saturday's going to be an AWESOME day! But sometimes I wish it would come sooner.
Are you running the half with music?
I get so nervous! and excited! I love racing. Good luck with your half, so excited for you!
Anxious. I have a half this weekend too. It is great that you are planning so much. I feel behind on my outfit. My food pre and during race is down, but I think it is going to be too cold for my standard race uniform, but too hot for my "PR" outfit. Combining the two will probably resort in some sort of fashion police arrest!
I think my biggest emotion leading up to my first half was "obsessive" - I constantly thought about every little twinge of possible pain, the weather, the clothing, the nutrition, the hydration, the plan, the route, everything relating to the race (even a tiny bit) occupied my every thought. It wasn't bad I enjoyed it, but it was a constant mind filling week for sure!!!! I think all the thinking about it led me to my day before and morning of emotion "ready!" - I knew I had done the training and done the planning and knew there was nothing left to do but run the race I had trained for!
You are so totally going to rock the race -just keep your head and MOST IMPORTANTLY - have fun! You only get one first - focus on the fun!!!!! Good luck girl - will be sending you my bestest wishes for a great race all week and during the race!
I get nervous even though I never race to win (I am not that fast) and I try not to think about setting a new PR or I will get even more nervous.
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