We have only been in Edinburgh for 18 hours and already, many of us have professed our love for the city. We were greeted with sunshine, blue sky and lovely views around every corner yesterday. After spending the afternoon in a local cafe working, I joined up with the rest of the group for a bit of a stroll, pub crawl and dinner.
We’re off to enjoy a free walking tour before cheering for the BLUE at Murray Field. Today’s match is Ireland versus Scotland in the 6 Nations tournament!
Less than ten days from now I’ll enjoy running my first race in downtown Savannah. The course winds runners through many of the historic sights including Forsyth Park and 12 city squares. Though I am a Savannah native, I haven’t had the opportunity to run through downtown, enjoying the parks, squares, historic sites, and moss-covered trees. Keep in mind that I didn’t start running until the age of 22, just as I was graduating from The University of Georgia and moving to Philadelphia. In fact, I’ve only run one race in Savannah, a Turkey Trot four years ago.
It’s a bit of a crazy course with all the twists, turns and out and backs, but this will hopefully work to my benefit. The out and back course means that I’ll get to spend to see my dad, brother and Bo cheering at least two times AND I’ll spend the second half of the race trying to spot my aunt and mom. I am SO proud of their training and can’t wait to celebrate their achievement of walking the half marathon. In fact, I think I’ve convinced my mom to do a guest post reflecting on her training and experience. My mom’s walking and endurance has evolved so much in just ten weeks! She is now averaging 25 miles per week, more than triple what she was walking previously!
At this point, I couldn’t be more excited for next Saturday. Even though training has not been perfect, I’m looking forward to racing. It’s been a while since I went into a half marathon this excited. I have the opportunity to run as a race ambassador in my hometown. The azaleas will be in full bloom, greeting us as we turn through the parks.
Our healthier lifestyle and my strong training these past two weeks have changed my mood, moving me from apprehensive to over the moon with excitement! Jess told me to spend these final few days focusing on my current week of training versus rehashing the past ten weeks of training. She couldn’t have been more right! Focusing my nerves and energy on my training has helped give me the extra boost to push the paces. Seeing faster than normal paces has helped boost my confidence going into next week’s half marathon.
My goal between now and then is to maintain my workout momentum, continue eating clean, limit my alcohol intake in Edinburgh this weekend and get plenty of sleep. The excitement of running in my hometown and having amazing spectators cheering along the race course is all the momentum I need to give this race every ounce – mentally and physically!
Your turn: How do you handle race courses with lots of twists and turns? How do you psyche yourself up for a successful race?
As Spring race season is just getting kicked off back in the United States, my Facebook feed is filled with friends excited to run races of all distances. Some people are traveling down to Washington, DC this weekend for the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC marathon and half marathon while others are enjoying local races.
Some people have aspirations of setting new personal bests during these upcoming races while others are looking forward to enjoying warmer temperatures and coming out of winter hibernation.
More and more, I see and hear friends describing their accomplishments of training for a race, regardless the distance, with the word JUST. I am guilty of this habit as well, doing the same yesterday during a Facebook conversation with a friend. He kindly complimented me and said that my early morning runs inspire his girlfriend to get out of bed. My response was naturally to say I JUST ran 5 miles and could never be an actual Nike ad.
I wish we would stop using this four letter word, replacing it instead with another description. JUST is the way we naturally downplay accomplishments or minimize them. I see it more often in women, as women often find it uncomfortable to be proud of their accomplishments both personally and professionally, instead minimizing them.
Think about the effect this can have on both the person using the term and those around them. If we stick with the running example, this can play out in multiple ways.
I’m not running the marathon; I’m JUST running the half marathon.
1. This mentally makes the runner think that the half marathon isn’t as important or difficult as the marathon distance. This can result in under training, a less than optimal mental state and reduce the excitement of crossing the finish line. Earlier this week, my coach wrote a post about the mistakes people make when training for a half marathon, and this is the #1 mistake she captured.
2. This can affect other runners as well. Remember how you felt when you trained for your first race? Whether it was a 5k or a marathon, it felt like the most important race of your life and such an accomplishment. There are beginners all around us, looking forward to crossing their first finish line. If they are training their hearts out for their first half marathon, by downplaying that accomplishment and using the word JUST you make them feel as if it isn’t a big accomplishment.
So next time someone asks you about your training or distance, own that distance with 100% of your heart and mind. Regardless your goal, don’t JUST run the race. Instead, be proud and loud about the decision to cross the starting line. There are thousands of other people who have yet to leave the sofa and it is our responsibility as runners to motivate and inspire them through our accomplishments.
Thank you to Jess for inspiring this post and to those friends whom I’ve called out this week for using the term JUST, I apologize but you need to start owning your accomplishments!