Eeek...It's Marathon Week!

It's Friday morning and I'm now counting down the hours to my marathon this Sunday.  It all seems so surreal that I am about to run 26.2 miles!  I don't think the excitement or anxiety has fully hit me yet, I guess that has to do with how busy I remain with work and kids, the fact that I've done this four times before and also because I have no expectations or big goals this time around.  Don't get me wrong, I want to do well.  And man oh man, what I wouldn't give to cross that finish line with a BQ like I had originally hoped.  But for this 5th marathon, despite being all healed up, pretty prepared and mentally and physically in better shape than I've been in a while, I still feel indifferent about my goals for this race.  I've said it in previous posts, I feel I just jumped into this one too quickly.  Training has been up and down, some runs point to a BQ while others had me questioning distance running all together.  But there is nothing I can do at this point other than to just lace up, give it my all and leave it all out on the course. 

I will be posting on Monday a full race recap but here is how this final week of marathon training has been...

Monday: Taught my usual spin class but in stead of weights this day, I decided to do some laps in the pool.  I accidentally left my watch at home so I had to count my own laps, gasp!  It wasn't bad at all, it was kind of nice not fumbling with a watch.  Swimming went really well except my shoulders where on fire the next day!  Once the marathon is over, I will be spending more and more in time in the pool in preperation for my triathlon in May. (I'm looking forward to writing about that experience.)

Tuesday: Last week, I mentioned joining Planet Fitness because it's super close to my work and I needed a place to use a treadmill.  I headed over there on my lunch break and knocked out 5 super easy miles on the dreadmill.  The weather was so gorgeous and since I'm still doing the Isntagram yoga challenge, I decided to take it outside for some sprints and my yoga flow.

Wednesday: Wanting and needing to go lighter on the weights so that I won't be too sore leading up to the weights, I headed back to Planet Fitness and knocked out a quick upper body circuit.  PF was pretty dead that time of day so I was able to get in and out rather quickly.  I did, however, go a little hard than I probably should have because my poor arms are still so sore.  I LOVE lifting, almost as much as running...almost.  In fact, if I had to chose between the two (for whatever reason), it sure would be a hard decision because they are both so equally important in my life.  Nothing beats that runners high but it sure feels pretty freaking amazing to go hard in that weight room.  I guess I'm lucky to get to experience the best of both worlds and the two go hand in hand.  This Spring and Summer, though, when I'm not doing distances longer than half's and 10k's, I am really looking forward to spending more time getting stronger and leaner (stay tuned for my next fitness endeavor)

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Thursday:  Last run before the big race (unless I can squeeze a 1-2 mile shake out run Saturday, not likely though).  Did a super easy 5k including some walking just to be conservative.  Then I hit the pool for a 1200m swim.  Also sent a little time foam rolling, I will certainly be doing that today and Saturday as well.

Jumping for joy, training is DONE!

Today:  It's currently only 5:30am here as I write this post and with my husband at work, I'm trying to get some work done while the kids are still asleep.  I will head into work myself soon too (after I drop the kiddos off at school) and try to squeeze in some foam rolling and mobility work this afternoon.

Yoga Challenge move from Thursday, I will be doing more of these movements along with foam rolling today.

Now is that time where I just have to try and relax and trust my training.  I have done all I can to prepare for something I have already done four times before.  So I know I can do it, it's just a matter of how well I can do it.  But I would have to say my biggest goal for this weekend has nothing to do with time.  This will be the first time since Marine Corps Marathon in 2010 where I traveled to a race, went to a big expo and really just have no expectations other than to finish.  This will also be the first time my kids get to experience this with me and see what mommy loves to do.  They did come to see me finish Space Coast two years ago but they were so young and that was such a bad race for me that that whole experience was just bad all around for everyone.  I am looking forward to the expo, to spending the night in the beach with my family, to having my boys there when I cross the finish line and to just soak up every minute of the whole weekend.  Be sure to check back Monday (or Tuesday) for my whole experience!

Getting sweet kisses from my boys Wednesday night, I cannot wait for them to hug and kiss me after I cross the finish line!