The Final Countdown

Well, I missed Runfessions last week...I actually was working on a post before I left for Seattle, but I couldn't wrap it up in time to publish it. I didn't have anything planned for today, but I've got a lot of thoughts going through my head this past week as I start the final countdown to Chicago Marathon #3!

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If you read my Wednesday Word post on Passion, you know that I had a major freakout this week after my bad 12 miler on Monday.
Like an "I'm going to DNS" moment. 
Like an  "I'm a fool to think I could sub-4 this marathon." 
Like "What if it's 80 degrees and humid?" 
Like "I'm too old to be doing this anymore!".
Are you rolling your eyes? Because I am.

Fortunately, my friends Marcia and Sara talked me off the cliff. Marcia, in her usual pragmatic way simply told me:

 "you've got the bad one out of your system" 

and this gem:

"you can have all horseshit runs from here til race day and still rock it." 

I'm thinking about getting that one tattooed on my forearm. If nothing else, looking at it on a run will make me smile, and we all know what smiling does for a run...

Sara reassured me that it was most likely "all the hills" I ran in Seattle. And the humidity. And she had a tough run too. Misery loves company.

Maybe it's the taper talking.

Anyways, I had a lot of nice comments on the post, Facebook, and Instagram regarding my angst. Thank you to everyone who shared stories and provided support. It really does take a village to train a marathoner.

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Yesterday I had my final speedwork on the plan. After a couple days off from running, a few good nights sleep, and my yoga for runners regimen (or you can do Beth's here), I woke up feeling great. I put on my Brooks Run Happy shirt and that is what I did--I ran happy. I flew through my mile splits, even running hard into the 25 mph winds. Having the wind at my back was even better. I noticed the walkers smiling at me as I ran by, and I thought maybe that my shirt was having a happy effect on everyone. Or maybe it was my wild hair blowing in the wind. Or maybe they were laughing at me tearing around the pond. Whatever it was, when they smiled, I smiled back, and I felt that lightness return to my legs.

This shirt just makes me happy.

Today's truth post: 

Smile and the whole world smiles at you.

Note to self: smile A LOT at the marathon. The streets of Chicago are lined with spectators cheering on the runners. There are plenty of people to smile at. More cowbell. Kids to high five. Power button signs. Do them all.

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I was not smiling at the SeaTac Airport. On the trip out to Seattle, as I was boarding the plane, the attendant stopped me and told me my carry-on bag was too big. She told me I'd have to check my bag. Meanwhile, my sister, who had priority boarding, was allowed to board with THE EXACT SAME suitcase. Whatever. So on the way home, thinking I had to check my bag, I packed a bottle of wine we bought on Bainbridge Island. But in order to check my bag, the airlines wanted me to pay $60 dollars. Oh hell no! I figured I'd just check it for free at the gate. You know where this is going, right? At the TSA baggage scan, I saw the agent yank my bag off the belt. She snapped on her latex gloves with the authority of a surgeon. I had a doh! moment. The wine! I told her about the wine. I offered to find it and she waved me away. "Step away from the inspection area!" I put my hands up and backed away. She pulled the offending bottle of wine out of my bag and set it on the counter as she rifled through my carefully packed bag. I told her to enjoy the wine. She told me it was going into the garbage. Yeah right.

I walked away and I started to cry. I may even have used the F-word a few times. My sister calmed me down. It wasn't the loss of the wine. What a way to end our wonderful sister trip. I was just so angry and frustrated and degraded by the whole process. I felt like Chevy Chase when he found out Wally World was closed.

If Marty Moose was there, I would have punched him too.

For the rest of the trip, I amused myself with scenarios of the TSA agents partying after their shift with all the stuff they confiscated from travelers. And laughing at all the fools trying to sneak stuff onto the plane...

But oddly, they didn't make us take off our shoes or take out our laptops...

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I'm already weather stalking for the marathon and it's looking promising:

But this is Chicago, and conditions change in a hurry...stay tuned for that one. Remember that 10 miler I ran in April? It was 65 at the start and then the wind shifted off Lake Michigan, dropping the temps halfway through the race to 48? So who knows? It could be 88 degrees (it was that one year) or it could snow (it did that the following year). Or maybe it could do both. I mean, some of us will be out there for 4-5 hours. Conceivably, we could have all 4 seasons in one handy dandy race.

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Not only did I have my final speedwork of my training cycle, but also my final CrossFit session (of this training cycle) with Becky. Fearing that I'm getting wimpy in my old age, I asked her if this training cycle was harder than last year. It sure felt like it.

The running was the same, but the CrossFit stuff was harder, she said.

I knew it! Ok, then. Whew.

I talked to her about my revised goals for the marathon. Before I learned that having a BQ didn't necessarily mean Boston acceptance this year (the cut-off was 2:28 mins under the qualifying times), I decided that I wasn't going to push for a sub-4 anymore. Now I know that I'd have to push even harder, and I just don't want to do that. Nope.

There. I said it. The pressure is off.

As this is very likely my last Chicago marathon, I've decided that I'd rather have fun again and finish strong. There is beer at the finish line, remember? So even if that means no PR, I'm ok with that. As much as I'd love to wrap up my marathoning with a 5th marathon in Boston, I don't think it's in the cards for me. And believe it or not, I'm ok with that. I've got Big Sur to look forward to....

Interestingly, Becky told me that she would be disappointed if I did anything different than have a strong race. She told me time doesn't matter to her. She doesn't want me to kill myself to get a PR or a sub-4. She told me I did great with my training and that is the most important. Although I don't have CrossFit next week, I'm going to see her for, as she put it, "a pep talk".

And that's why I love my coach. Her mantra? Good vibes only.

I'm feeling the love, my friends. Chicago marathon, I am ready. Let's do this.

How do you keep yourself sane as a big race approaches? After a bad training run? Have any clothes that seem to make you run faster? Ever have anything confiscated from your suitcase at the airport?