As I left work this afternoon, I gave one of my friends (Emily) a card. I wanted to tell her thank you for all of her support over the past months. She always has a smile on her face and cheerfully asks how my running is going ... on a daily basis! Since I'm taking a personal day tomorrow, I wanted to give her the card as I left. I walked into her office and handed it to her. When she asked me what it was, I noticed that I started to tear up. I tried to walk away but she caught me. She asked how I was and I just started crying.
It finally hit me. I'm running a marathon in less than 72 hours. I won't be back at work until it's finished. I've been spending the last 4 months working so hard for this ... and really the past three cycles have almost overlapped. Essentially, I've been training for this race since the end of Summer '09. She asked me how I was and I just stood there with tears in my eyes. I felt so goofy, but I looked at her and told her I was ready. I'm not over-the-top excited, though I am at the same time. I'm just ready. I'm not over confident by any means ... if anything, this is the one thing I need to work on in the next 2 days. But, I know that I've done all that I can do and I've trained as hard as possible for the past 4 months. So, because of this, I'm at peace. I'm hoping that all of the stars align in my favor on Saturday morning because if they do I could have a really good race. But, if they don't .... well, that's out of my control. All I can do is fight the fight and that I can assure you I will do! I plan to finish the race completely mentally and physically exhausted. I will give Apalachicola everything I've got - and I can only hope that on Saturday that's my absolute best!
So, I'm sure you're dying for goals:
- A) To finish under 3:39:59 ...
- B) To PR. I'll need to finish under 3:51:50 to PR
- C) To give it everything I have, not give up and finish with a smile on my face!
A lot of runners wouldn't even admit to goal C but I know that 26.2 miles is a looooong way and that you've always got to respect the distance. Anything can happen out there and while I hope that I reach A, I can honestly say that I'll be ecstatic with a nice PR.
I'll be heading up to Apalachicola early Friday morning with Penny. I can only imagine how we'll entertain ourselves for the 5 hours there. Sadly, David probably will not be going. Boo, last minute work! On a positive note, I cannot wait to finally meet Stephanie! This is both of their first marathons and they are going to do GREAT! I can't wait to share this experience with them! Please stop by their pages and wish them luck!!
Until then, wish me luck! Next time you hear from me, I hope to have great news!! :)
* For some reason, I can't get Stephanie's link to work. Go to: http://stephilynne@blogspot.com **
GO YOU! you are going to rock this. soooooooooooo ready :) my C goal is always to finish a race feeling like i gave it my all so i think having a C goal is wayyyyy important. as competitive as i am i still want things to be fun.
ReplyDeletebut i don't think you'll hit the C goal because i'm sure that your A goal is IN SIGHT! i know i haven't followed your blog for *that* long but you've put in the miles and work and speed (and gotten speeeeeedy) that i totally see great things for you :D
Jaime, you have worked so hard these past four months.. trust me, I have watched it all! You are such a strong person and I know you will do amazing on Saturday. Believe in yourself and everything will be fine. We are going to come up with affirmations on our 5 hour trip and we are going to repeat them until the marathon is over... we are so ready for this!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck this weekend! the C goal is so important come marathon day but I'm sure you'll be hitting your A!
ReplyDeletehave a GREAT race girl, trust your training and believe in yourself. remember those things especially in the tough miles. i hope everything clicks and you can have the magic race you have trained so hard for. so excited for you!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!! As everyone else has stated -- you will be great. Go Jaime!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Jaime!!! Don't feel ashamed about crying and being emotional, that shows you still have the right perspective about your running and that you have passion for it! When we lose that emotion we have a problem. You are such an inspiration as a marathoner and I hope to join you soon in the 26.2 journey. Again, best wishes!!! :-]
ReplyDeleteI am SO excited to finally see you tomorrow! You have worked SO hard and put so much into this race you deserve your A goal and then some, and I am confident you can get it!
ReplyDeleteKeep the confidence up girl, you got this! See you in like 28 hours!!!!!
Jaime, you have worked hard for this and all the ones before. All of those miles have got you to the start line. You will be great! I'll be sending you some good luck vibes from up in MI.
ReplyDeleteJaime,
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you, Penny and Stephanie this weekend.
You're gonna do great. You've put in the hard work, now just follow thru to reap the rewards!
Good luck on your marathon! I think you'll do great! Believe in yourself and have fun. I hope the stars align for you!
ReplyDelete"John Wayne" from the Loop
Aw I love that you've run many races before and you're still super emotional! :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck - I hope you get to goal A but if not - who cares? You are amazing!
Go Jamie, GOOOOO!! We're all here rooting and cheering you on - it's going to be awesome!!
ReplyDelete