Morning, everyone!
This Saturday I'm doing a St. Patty's themed 8k and I am having some serious pre-race jitters....already. The course is in downtown Raleigh and should be fun and scenic. According to map my run the course is 5.12 miles.
I don't know what I was thinking signing up for this! The longest race I've ever done is a 5k, and the longest run I've ever done, ever, was about 4.2 miles. I am terrified! I keep telling myself that the worst that can happen is that I will run the first 3.1 like it is a 5k and then walk/run the rest as best as I can. No matter what I will finish it and that will be an accomplishment in itself.
my girlfriends and I last year running a 3-mile fun run on St. Patty's Day
But, being type A, I know that slogging through the last 2 miles slowly and walking a lot will make me feel kind of like crap. When I signed up for this race I hoped that I'd be able to run 5 miles by this time and that I would be able to run almost all of it and get a decent time. Now I really feel like that might not be possible and feel a little disappointed in myself. One or two extra miles might not seem like a lot to some of you, but I just started running a year ago after a serious illness and am definitely not a natural runner. My running journey has been filled with a lot of periods of two steps forward, one step back. I am not one of those people who can just not train and run a race.
I don't want to go into this race with these negative thoughts, because I know running is just as mental as physical...if not more so! Any advice on how you mentally prepare for a race when the mileage is a "reach" for you? Any inspirational tips? I need it and it would be MUCH appreciated!!!!





























