Nothing left to it but to do it

This has been my mantra for this race season. I can honestly say I have done the training for my first half marathon coming up this Sunday. I am not exactly were I wanted to be as far as strength and overall pace, but this year I have been pushing myself further physically, mentally, and emotionally than I would of ever thought possible. I see the progress, and while my support team is happy, I still find myself wishing for more.  Even with 5-6 days of work outs a week I still wonder what I could of done more of or done better so that I could of hit the time goal I gave myself for this race. According to Jeff Galloway your first race at any distance should be just to finish with your head up, shoulders back , and a smile on your face.Oh well, I think the saying that fits now is something like, "Rome was not built in one day."

I have only ran twice this week and missed my boot camp class Monday due to this toe issue of mine. The first run was just a 5k and the second was around 30 minutes but didn't even keep track of mileage. This week of tapering my miles is killing me, but is a necessary evil from what research I have done. Still doesn't mean that I have to like it. I have spent the whole week bouncing off the walls with extra energy.  I have gone through all my race gear making sure everything is in good shape and clean.  Music lists have been tweaked and my Garmin has been charged. Even checked the weather reports to make sure conditions are not changing! Only two things left to do are to get my race packet Friday and run the race Sunday.

This race is symbolic for me on so many levels. Beyond being the first half marathon, it is the first event distance completed for my half Ironman next year. All I have to do know is get the 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile ride completed, then string it all together. It also symbolizes the last big race for my first race season. I then can take a very, very short break (week tops) and sit down with my support team so that I can figure out the schedule for off season workouts. I have some pretty lofty goals I want to accomplish this off season, but want to hear from the team if they to think they are attainable before I list them here. Next race season will start with the Shamrock half marathon and a few other smaller races but the main focus will be the triathlons.

This should be the last post before the big race. Wish me luck!