Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Westminster 13.1

This Saturday I am running a 1/2 marathon. I have set a goal for myself that I know I am physically capable of doing. BUT, that being said I am still a very big beginner when it comes to racing and although your body can handle something your own brain can end up becoming your worst enemy.

For this race I decided, it is time to tell my brain who is boss and run "Guns to the Max" (One of my friends uses that saying and I just happen to really like it).  Now, you must understand that I am currently training for a marathon (Grandmas) and I have not done any specific training for this race.  My tempo runs are at marathon pace and my long runs are slow.  I do a speed workout twice a week with my running club (which I absolutely LOVE) and I am hoping that all of this mixed together will end up giving me a good overall time.

So, of course I am nervous.  And what happens to me when I get nervous........ I dunno, I go to pick up my race packet and end up purchasing all kinds of goodies that I don't need.... but of course it is OK because I got an additional 25% off.  All the stuff you see below is a variety of what I do typically use when running a marathon.  I haven't found my favorite cocktail of GU, Sport Beans, Roctane, shot bloks, etc. so I decided to add to my current collection (which as I hope you imagine is plenty big and I will be running several marathons before I actually go through all of it). Oh, and the extra socks and grid foam roller just happened to end up in my pile while checking out.  oopps.



During the 1/2 I will most likely use at most 2 GU's or something of that nature.  On a side note, today I went for a slow recovery run, only ate a Yogurt before thinking I would feel fine.  During the middle of the run I ended up having a blood sugar issue.  So I found some gobstoppers, pounded about 5 and felt a ton better.  Now I am wondering, do I just mostly need sugar? or is all the extra stuff found in GU, etc. really necessary? I dunno, I bought plenty of both and decided I will carry some sour patch kids with me just as a chaser in case I am feeling on a sugar low.  With 36g of sugar per serving, I think I will be fine. cheers.=)

I get nervous before every single speed or tempo run as it is, let along an actual race.  I am typically not the competitive type.  I would consider it a weakness of mine. But I would like to turn that weakness into a strength and sooooo on we go. WISH ME LUCK=) and for all of you Colorado peeps who live somewhere near Westminster come run! It is a small race and very reasonably priced.

Come on out Colorado Runners, it will be a great way to start your spring running season.

4 comments:

  1. Way to go Jen! You will do great

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  2. I am sure you will do great Jen! Our brains can be our enemies or our best friends, so you just pep talk yourself through that whole race.

    I have done a lot of experimenting with fuel during my training because I eat "Paleo." I drink coconut water or juice instead of sports drinks and that is definitely a winner. I started out doing cut up Lara bars but realized that they might be a little to high calorie for some runs. Now I generally do Honey Stix and raisins and I think that combination is awesome. I tried substituting Gu in my last long run and my body hated it.

    Let me know what you think of that foam roller, it looks awesome!

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  3. Good luck girlie! You have gotten faster and faster by leaps and bounds and I'm sure you will kill it on Saturday! Can't wait to hear all about it!

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  4. You are fantastically amazing- and I'll be there to cheer you on at the end! If you are freaking out on Saturday- just think of my voice telling your mind to just "shut up and run!"

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