In less than 2 weeks I’ll be running the Big Sur marathon.  I’ve done the long runs, done the hills, strength trained and done what I can to be prepared.  At this point it’s all about the taper and most importantly, mental prep.

Having done 7 marathons, a lot of half marathons as well as hundreds of training miles over the past 11 years I know what running a marathon feels like physically.  It feels good, it feels bad, it feels good again then it feels really bad and then you’re done.  Cry, limp, get a medal, get a space blanket, eat a banana, and feel like you literally could do anything.  Then you feel like you want to either throw up or curl up in a ball and sleep!

The mental part of the marathon is my Achilles heel.  While I can train my body it’s my mind that gets in the way.  Too fast, too slow, what’s that pain, do I have to go to the bathroom, it’s too hot, too cold, why did I ever think I could do this?  And that’s only at mile 5!  In order to get over my feeling of inadequacies and dread I need to run through the race in my head a few dozen times.  I think about how I’ll feel at mile 20 and what I can do to get to mile 26.2.  Sometimes I put myself in a good situation where things are great and then move to a situation where the wheels come off – just so I can plan how to deal with it.  Mostly though, I just think about running and how to keep running and how great I will feel when I accomplish marathon #8.

Plus when I’m done I’ll get a fancy new space blanket.  They are all the rage!

Now go run!

Keli 🙂