BQ #4

Game on.

Marathon running is so mental. When I ran my first marathon in 2022 I wasn’t prepared for that. When I hit mile 25, my mind suddenly went off the rails. All I could think were negative thoughts. That is so not me. I am the queen of optimism. But I couldn’t remember that at the time. 

I was more prepared mentally for my 2nd marathon in 2023. During training I would speak about my upcoming race with great confidence. I painted my fingernails yellow and blue to signify that I would (without a doubt) qualify for the Boston Marathon. My race shirt said, “I got this.” I knew the mental battle would be hard core. I made a plan. When the bad thoughts came I replaced them with positive ones. And it helped.

And here I am again. Gearing up mentally. And the battle is on. Even in my sleep. I am having all the dreams about race debacles. Just the other night I had the most vivid dream that I showed up late to the start line and in jeans no less! When I woke up my heart was racing. 

But mostly, in my waking hours anyway, I am feeling great. Both mentally and physically. I am back to my goal pace. I am running the prescribed distances. I am eating more. Last weekend, I ran my longest run of this training cycle, a 20-miler. And I felt great! (Cheyenne overheard me telling someone that. She was like, “What!? You came home, laid on the floor and said you were going to throw up!” It’s all relative. You runners get me right? I meant the run felt great.) Tomorrow I run 14 and then I begin the taper. That means, after going up and up in miles for the last 18 weeks, I start going down. My poor legs need some rest before the big race. 

I am so excited about running the Boston Marathon in 17 days. I still can’t believe it. But I’m just sayin’….. I got this.