I was all ready to post something like this...
I can think of a lot of words leading up to this race.
Unconfident
Unprepared
Unexcited
And, then I read all of my Indy Mini posts from other years.
This happens almost every year. Well, except for the unexcited part. Now that I see I've had these same thoughts every year, I think the excitement may kick back in.
I was doing OK with this training cycle until about 2 or 3 weeks ago when I got a bad cold/cough and took a week off. I think that shook my confidence. My 11 miler two weeks ago was painful and not much fun. That also shook my confidence. My hopes of doing 9 this last weekend were dashed and after only 4 miles, I called it quits. On top of all of that, I just haven't run the miles. So, yeah, my confidence is low.
But, here's the thing. When your confidence gets low, your performance suffers. The "I can do it" attitude turns into "No way I can make this happen" and "It hurts" and "I'm tired" and "This sucks."
When reading my most recent Mini thoughts (my PR race), I saw a pattern. It was a pattern of positivity. From the first mile, my time was good and my thoughts were upbeat. At the end of the day, these races are a mind game over anything else.
So, for the next two days, I will be changing my thought pattern. I will be switching out my nervousness about being unprepared with nervous energy.
Here is why this could be a great race...
1. Weather - It's calling for a high of 69, which would be really too warm. But, a 0% chance of rain! After my last two races in a torrential downpour, this is welcome news. My guess is that it will get warm near the finish line but be OK the rest of the way.
2. Time - We have a little later start time this year. I believe it has started at 7:30 in the past and we're in the second wave so we'll be closer to 8AM instead.
3. Waves - This is a first for this race. I'm not sure how it will work but Tom and I will both be in the first corral of the second wave so I'm hoping for less bobbing and weaving.
4. Long runs - The long runs I have done for this cycle have been faster than normal. (We're just not going to talk about the last few miles of the 11 miler.)
5. Course - This is a flat course. Great for a PR.
6. Weight - I've lost some weight since last year. I'm not exactly sure how much since last May, but I'm down a fair amount since the marathon this fall. I recently read that 10 pounds can take as much as 20 seconds off of your mile pace. (It has to do with your VO2 Max. Google it - I can barely understand it let alone explain it!)
This will be our 5th Mini and my 8th Half. When I look back at my times for this race, I notice a big difference in 2013.
Indy Mini - 05/03/2013
Time: 1:54:51
Pace: 8:46
Overall Place: 5074/30,059 - 17%
Division Place: 229/2516 - 9%
Indy Mini - 05/05/2012
Time: 2:03:33
Pace: 9:26
Overall Place: 6,789/31,170 - 22%
Division Place: 403/2739 - 15%
Indy Mini - 05/07/2011
Time: 2:02:43
Pace: 9:22
Overall Place: 8,973/30,649 - 29%
Division Place: 561/2759 - 20%
Indy Mini - 05/02/2009
Time: 2:04:51
Pace: 9:32
Overall Place: 10,238/30,280 - 33%
Division Place: 709/2905 - 24%
Here are my goals for this race...
A - 2014 Goal - under 1:50
B - PR - under 1:54:51
C - Finish under 2 hours
Honestly, I'm thinking I'll be somewhere between B&C but a PR is not out of the question. I'm thinking my 2014 goal of sub 1:50 may have to wait for another race, but it could happen I suppose. My biggest question mark in my head right now is how fast do I start. Do I shoot for sub 1:50 or do I shoot for a PR? Thinking PR at this point.
Enough about that. Off to drink some water and eat some carbs and work on the positive self-talk!
No comments:
Post a Comment