Fitting Remarks: A Reflection on my Training and a Goal...

My 16^th marathon, the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. is a week from today.

The other day my sister asked me about the course, and I told her that this marathon is really hilly. She said, “oh, so not a PR then?”

(FYI….runner lingo- "PR" is personal record. Some people call it a “PB” or personal best, but I call it a PR)

Back to my sister's comment- "not a PR." 

Well, why not? Why not a PR? Why is everyone so afraid of hills? 

I have trained really hard. I can still PR. I will still PR. 

This is your race. 
This is your opportunity. 
Trust your training

When I reflect back on my running journal, it seems as though my training went pretty well.  I mean, I only missed one long run when we were in Utah on a ski trip, but otherwise I successfully completed every other long run over the past 18 weeks.  There were no issues, no melt-downs, and no failed long run attempts.

I ran on hills. I killed hills.

I ran tempos. I ran track workouts.

I ran multiples times on a beach vacation in Turks & Caicos, when I was tempted to just lounge… 

I ran at high altitude in Park City, Utah. 

I ran A LOT on the treadmill during this terrible winter. 

I ran in temperatures well below zero.

I ran in the snow. I ran in the sleet.  I ran in the rain.

I was healthy. I didn’t suffer any injuries.  Sure, I went to see Dr. Crabtree at Uptown Natural Care a few times for some A.R.T. and Graston on my IT band, but fortunately I stayed on top of that issue throughout the training season. 

I foam rolled, I practiced yoga, I strength trained, I barre’d, I worked my core (remember the plank challenge?)

I am ready.

Of course, there are still 7 days between now and the marathon, and a lot can happen in 7 days.

I could get injured (hopefully unlikely), I could get sick (sometimes pretty likely during the taper. A lot of runners get sick during this time).

Then there’s marathon DAY- the weather could be terrible…HOT, rainy, windy. Or maybe it just won't be my day- I have had that happen many times in the past- I trained really hard, but my hard work wasn't reflected on race day. 

But no matter what happens on May 4^th, I can look back at my training and be proud of myself.

"It's not about having the courage to finish a marathon, it’s about having the courage to begin."

"Getting this far- just getting to the starting line- is a challenge in and of itself. The marathon is merely the reward."

I have to thank my friend Kelly for training with me- we did nearly all of our long runs together, and she gave me a lot of advice (combined with information from the McMillan Training Calculator- if you’re not using this for your training, you should start!) 

On her own, Kelly has run a 3:25 marathon- twenty minutes faster than my goal for next Sunday, so I feel as though she is running this race for me. I want to thank her, no matter what happens on May 4th.

Oh right...I mentioned my goal.

So here are my goals in the order of most awesome goal to the worst.  

If #1 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping that #2 does.  If #2 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping for #3, and so on and so forth.

#1. Run a 3:45

#2. Run a 3:4X – anything with a 3:4X something is just fine.

#3. Run a PR (my PR is 3:55)

#4. Don’t run worse than Kelly’s worst marathon (She has never gone over 4 hours. I can’t be her first…)

#5. Finish.

#6. Don’t die

Fingers crossed, my friends. I have had too many "bad" marathons. Its time for a good one.

There will come a time during the marathon when I have to choose how hard I am going to push myself.   How strong will I be when the going gets tough? (because yeah…it will get tough. It will get really uncomfortable...)

Will I be able to look at myself in the mirror on Sunday afternoon, and honestly answer the question, “Did I give it my all? Did I do my best?” I want to be able to say YES. I gave 100%.

Okay, okay, Jess, enough with the #sobrave  #inspirational  #motivational crap, right? 

It’s just a marathon. Millions of people run them every year. And 3:45 isn't even that impressive.

That’s right. It is JUST a race. It doesn’t represent who I am. My finish time doesn’t determine my value as a person…If I don’t achieve my goal, I will get over it. Life goes on.

Even so…that doesn’t make me want to achieve my goal any less!

P.S. There is no runner tracking at Flying Pig, so the fastest way for you to find out if I achieved my goal is for me to tell you, and I'm planning to post the results here first.  So, before I post to my personal Facebook or text anyone, or anything like that, I will post to the blog as to which of the goals was attained- 1, 2, 3, 4,5, or 6.  Be sure to check here first!