with a thick blanket of fog descending on Perth this morning, this morning’s recovery run was eerily still and quiet. somehow it seemed like a suitably mysterious and eery start to “the final week”.
yes, the “final” week has arrived
it doesn’t seem like 18 or 19 weeks since I started on the beginner’s marathon training schedule, but obviously it has been. While time has flown past, it also feels like I’ve been running on the streets regularly forever – yet it’s actually only been a couple of months since I switched over to the full running program.
and now, here I am, 6 days away from taking part in my first ever marathon. *gulp*
as unbelievable as this would have sounded 18 months ago, I’m really looking forward to it. sure I know it’s going to be tough at times, I’m probably even going to hit some point on the 42.2km where I curse myself for doing it, but I’m already excited about how it’s going to feel when I cross that finish line – even if it takes all day to get there!
what a pre-marathon itinerary looks like
this morning I set out on an easy recovery run, to warm up and ease the muscles after the weekend’s long run (a mere 13km this time due to being in the “tapering” phase).
tomorrow (tuesday) is a rest day
wednesday’s activity is a 3.2km run (and the final time I will slip on the running shoes before the big day)
thursday = 20 minutes easy/moderate on the rowing machine
friday = rest day
saturday = 20 minutes easy/moderate on the rowing machine, then some “chillaxing”
sunday = M-day – the big day – realisation of the initial goal set all those months ago
things I am most concerned about at this point in time
I’ve done the kilometres, and I know what my body’s capable of, so I’m reasonably happy about the day itself. I will do my level best to set out nice and slowly, plod along and finish whenever I finish. No expectations.
My main concerns at the moment are to avoid stupid things – like my 4 year old son bouncing on my legs/ankles and straining my knee. or our lovable-but-stupid greyhound puppy standing on my toes, jumping up and scratching my thighs. or catching a cold, or worse still – a stomach bug.
So really what I’m most concerned about this week is taking it easy, and avoiding anything that might possibly put participation at risk.
That’s a bit of a contrast form the past, when I would have been secretly praying for something to happen, giving me a perfect excuse to not do it.
pumped and ready, bring it on
no doubt I’ll be blogging a bit more as the week goes on – as M-day gets closer I’m feeling more and more excited about it all.
fortunately I’m pretty good at doing the “laidback” thing, so it’s really a deep sense of calm excitement that exists at the moment.
let’s see how that goes as the days count down…
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