I wrote this the weekend before the Gold Coast Airport Marathon series as we had a few runners taking part. Some like me were doing the half marathon, some were doing the marathon and some were doing the 10km race.
Nerves are inevitable before an event and it’s a fine balance. I was watching a Boston Marathoner talk about the lead up to the Boston Marathon and he was talking about how you want a bit of nervous energy, but not too much. It can be hard to to have something that you have worked towards for months boil down to one day and a few hours.
This was my seventh half marathon event. And after all of those races what I’ve realised is that all the hard work has been done. The hard work was getting up at 4am in the morning to run intervals which I hate. The hard work was running hill repeats after a crossfit session when everything in my body is screaming at me. This? This is just the fun part. This is the bit where we get to hang out with friends we’ve met and friends we haven’t met yet who share our passion for running. This is the bit where we get to go for a nice scenic run in a great atmosphere. This is the bit where all of the training kicks in and you get to see what it has done for you.
So anyone who is racing this weekend, enjoy your victory lap. You earned it.
Hope you have a wonderful race! Bummed I can’t be down there with you all.
Enjoy! 🙂
What a fabulous way to look at race day! I have been out with an illness this year and am sitting at home watching my running friends klm splits on the computer. But this message from you is so good, what a fabulous philosophy! Months and. Months of long lonely runs, of hill sprints (yuck) and interval training. All that for a victory lap! I LOVE it!! Thanks for sharing, I will remember this next year when I am hopefully back into the running season. Jane xx