Marathon Eve

On this, the eve of my 20th marathon, I confess I have no idea what tomorrow's race will look like. It could be the best of my life or it could be a suck fest. Come to think of it, that's pretty much how every marathon is whether I want to admit it or not. A perfect training cycle never guarantees a perfect race. So many things can go right and wrong in 3 hours or less, and so many are out of my control.

I have not posted about my training lately partly because it has been whack-a-doodle. I also felt little motivation to post the trivialities of my running life when big, horrific things were happening in the world. It just seemed ridic to post about a stupid long run or workout when people's lives were being so deeply affected by a couple of idiots with bombs. I have had a heavy heart since Boston. I am grateful that the peeps I knew at the race walked away from the experience with no physical scars, but I can only imagine the emotional scars that they will carry for years to come.

And life, she marches on...

These last two weeks have been the craziest taper weeks I've experienced. When I took my new job in October, one main motivating factor was to get out into the field more. When I planned to run this marathon, I wasn't yet aware of how much field time I would be getting or exactly when it would come. In my two taper weeks, I've had 8 days out in the field, and I have really struggled with how to fit running in while not totally killing myself.

Take this past Tuesday as an example (albeit extreme) of what a day in the field looks like. I left home at 6:30 a.m. and got back home at 11:30 p.m. Four of those hours were spent driving. The other 13 were hiking up and down a creek canyon through mosquito infested, poison oak covered habitat looking for rare plants. I hiked a total of 14 miles and climbed 5000 feet with the same amount of descent (yes, I wore my Garmin). I also accidentally poisoned myself with Jungle Juice (99% DEET) by spraying it directly on my face. I read the directions afterwards, as my face turned numb and my lips started burning. "Do not spray directly on face". I was in pretty bad shape most of the day from that alone and might still feel a little off from it. My legs were absolutely dead at the end of the day. I thought to myself on the drive home, "so much for a taper."

Cool plants like to hang out at the tops of hills in rock outcrops. The view is lovely from up there. 

Nature is beautiful. I am lucky.

My mileage has been lower than I've ever run in the last two weeks of marathon training, but I've never  spent this much time out in the field those last two weeks either. I've struggled with this because I am a slave to my running numbers. I know it's not smart to layer running on top of all of this physical work, but my brain doesn't like it one bit! It's debatable how much of a physical toll this abnormal running taper has taken on me, but it has left me feeling under prepared for the race. I will say that I feel strong as an ox--field work makes you tough! However, I am definitely more fatigued than I would like to be.

I've learned a valuable lesson in that I should avoid planning a marathon during the field season. I could also never recreate these last two weeks if I tried if my race ends up being spectacular. So, I will just get my butt out there and run my race.

Thanks to everyone who's wished me luck and supported me along the way. Here's to lucky number 20!