For the first time, I will be running the 2019 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon on June 22nd.
This is kind of in reverse order as I jumped right into the full marathon distance of Grandma’s Weekend back in 2014 and 2016 – both times bonking really hard.
Historically, I have tended to stress out too much about hitting all my workouts NO MATTER WHAT or sticking to a strict pace regardless of race day conditions (very dumb approach in 2016 – SUPER hot). This year I am utilizing a more “mellow” approach to both training and race day.
IfWhen I need to miss a workout because this baby of ours is born (anytime between now and early June really, which will bring the grand total to 3 little ones in our house), I’ll miss the workout without worry. Race day will be a relaxed event for me, treating it as a mid-distance tempo run of sorts, nothing out of the ordinary to see here folks.
For if I approach races how I used to, with mountains of stress/worry for no good reason, my legs and mind will feel like garbage – not exactly how personal records (PR’s) are set (unless it’s your first attempt at a particular distance, then congrats, as long as you finish…you get to brag about setting a new PR!).
With all this being said, I can totally see feeling decent 8 miles in and wanting to really push the last part of the race to see what kind of time I could get – I still have this ridiculous competitive trait that I can’t for the life of me figure out how to turn off…maybe someday.
At the end of the day I really want to enjoy the training process and I really want to enjoy the race itself. To me, there’s no point in torturing myself. I am not an elite runner with a shot of winning (and a payday) – just someone who gets a kick out of being active and testing to see where my fitness is at on any given day.
So if you ever find yourself in a similar position of “freaking the heck out” gearing up for a race, I invite you to change things up with me for this year’s race weekend in June and just HAVE FUN!! At the end of the day running is about getting your butt moving, having some fun with friends, taking in the views our wonderful area of the world has to offer, and giving yourself a great excuse to have a beer or three!
See you along the shore 🙂
Photo by Thomas Dils on Unsplash