Three weeks til Race Day

♠ Posted by Paul Naylor at 8:39 AM

With the race only three weeks away, I'm entering the final preparations, getting my last major workouts in, and doing more visualizing and meditating. I feel myself getting excited and a bit nervous. I'm excited because I have been looking forward to this race for the last year. It is in my personal top races I've participated in, and I'm looking to enjoy sights, sounds and atmosphere. I'm a bit nervous due to that I want to run a great race. I have recently increased my miles, and now I'm going be focusing a lot on speed work over the next two weeks.

I have a goal to run a sub 1:20 for this race. I expect myself to run at least 1:30.  I want it to be an overall amazing experience, but coming home with a reached goal would be nice too. And when it comes to reaching goals, that is where you mind starts to play games. This is where running becomes a mental sport, overcoming your own self-doubts, fears and insecurities. While I personally think that most people can run a long distance race, a lot of them don't simply because 'I can't run that long'. A mind game.

This is where I'll be doing a lot of visualization and meditation. I think that I'm going to do just fine for the race itself, but I don't want to psych myself out because I'm going for a PR.