Friday, January 4, 2013

No Sleep 'Til Boston


100 days. We have 100 little days to get our shit together and be prepared to run the oldest and one of the most highly revered (Paul Revered?! hahahaha) marathons of them all - the Boston Marathon.  

NO PRESSURE AT ALL.

27,000 runners will line up and put all of their hard work on the line. The reputation of this race and the caliber of the runners in it demands that we take it seriously - that we respect the tradition and excitement of it all. It is an honor to get to participate at all.

Boston Skyline Print from GoingUnderground
I have to be honest; when I got accepted into the race, I was pretty intimidated by it all and I still am. I am definitely honored that I get to compete along side all of these other amazing athletes, but...I have been a little bit torn in how I wanted to approach the race. Self doubt, panic, etc.

I am a decent runner, but I am not a professional athlete. One side of me is saying "You need to run your ass off - COMPETE!" Then, this other side of me (the wimpy, artistic side) is like "You might never do this again. You should just enjoy it. Soak it all in...wave at the crowd...bla bla bla. You're not going to win, so what's the difference?" THAT SIDE OF ME MAKES ME INSANE - WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! NO!

Running Art Print from soulgraffiti
It took a heart to heart conversation with a friend of mine to talk real sense into me. He happens to be a former USATF team member and USA Speed Walking Champion, so he understands big races and nerves and pressure and competition. He reminded me that it is ok to not win. It is even ok to not place in the top half if that's what the field presents on April 15th. He reminded me to stop comparing myself to the other runners and run my best race that day. That's all we can do.

This isn't new advice by any means. I think we hear and say this every time a race comes up - but the revelation is that the advice doesn't change when it is THE RACE on the line. We can only show up and do our best...in all things in life. Time to do work, so I can do my best when I arrive in Boston. Good luck to everyone else training and competing. 
See you there.
T.S. Eliot Print from StephLawsonDesign


9 comments:

  1. Ahhhhh! I am so excited! And nervous about stuff...but mostly excited! I just read Duel in the Sun about the '82 Boston Marathon. Great book and just got me more excited :)

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    1. I should read that... Good luck in all of your training!

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  2. Even many less "training" days. Not many tune up races, which does concern me. I am just going to put myself in position to perform well. Let the chips fall. For me under 3:00 is the goal. Pr is a must. Every day counts now till April. Jw

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    1. Absolutely, every day counts. Every decision counts. Thankfully, we have all kinds of people aiming for the same race and they offer lots of support. Good luck in your training!!!

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  3. I'm a new runner, but I'm very competitive and I find that for me, it's just hard doing something where I don't have a chance of doing that well yet! Just coming in 12th in a 5K was super exciting for me. But at least my competitive nature is making me commit to speed work now :)

    Good luck in Boston!! You must be so, so excited!

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    1. Speed work makes such a big difference - and don't forget - running takes a lot of time and practice! As long as you stay committed, you'll be improving in no time. 12th in a 5K is pretty awesome! Keep it up.

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  4. Hey it's my first Boston too! We're going to rock it :-)

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    1. Absolutely!!! I'm sure you're as excited as I am. I cannot wait. :) Good luck in your training.

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