Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Last Supper

So Sunday is race day! It is the first race back since last August. And I would like to tell you that I am super excited and ready to go. That I can't wait to cross the starting line and that it is going be nothing but the best thing ever!  And it is true I AM really excited, but there is this other part of me...this part that begins to creep up before any race, a part that I can never seem to quash and especially if I have not run a raced in almost a year!!! It is none other than the "worry wort"  in me.  Yes I will admit it, I am nervous nelly.  I noticed my nerves creeping up on me last night as I started to analyze my diet for the next few days before the race, most importantly the night before and the morning of!
 
My meals pre-race are always so important to me. That important that I plan days in advance.  I worry that without the "perfect" meal, everything will go wrong. I won't be able to stay properly hydrated, I won't have the needed fuel or my stomach will go the other direction and have too much food in it or feel water sloushing around or worse yet it will be porta-potty city!! So what is a girl to do?  Lauren from Failed Muffins recently mentioned letting things go.  And while I have learned that I cannot fix and change everything and that I must let many things go and accept it, that does not mean I am not trying to obsessively plan for this week's event.  I know to many of you a half marathon is pretty much a walk in the park, but it is a pretty big deal for me, so yes I am gearing up early on!

Specifically in the past few days I have been focusing on my pre-race meals.  Since I won't be home and  I will be on the Cape, things are a bit more complex.  Luckily, I do have a beautiful home to go to on the Cape so I do have the option of cooking or eating out.  Unfortunately, I am still nervous, and still not sure of the "perfect" meal.  I tend to really like having pasta and fish the night before a race - little protein and little carbs, great combo.  But this week I find myself second guessing - what fish? what carb? Hmmmm....oh well, it is here I realize, I will just have to try something and go with it and see if it worked!!  

Any good pre-race dinner suggestions from a perhaps overtly nervous runner?

In other news, my knee is doing "ok."  Yesterday I stuck to the elliptical and treadmill doing 10 minutes on the elliptical, 3 miles on the treadmill (23:02), and 10 minutes on the elliptical. Everything felt tight and I felt the knee immediately, but after a little bit the knee felt better, but running felt awkward.  

Today, an hour on the elliptical really helped, but it was SO boring. Why is it that all the other ellipticals have the hook up to the TV but the one I like to use does not :( :( Oh well totally worth it and between that an anti-inflammatory prescription cream (which is actually for my neck but I got the ok to use it on my knee) I am not feeling that bad!! PT tomorrow and some more running, so we will see, fingers crossed!!! Because as you can tell from above, my other number one worry is my numerous ailments :(

10 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, good luck! You are going to do great! I always just do the usual spaghetti and red sauce (and some kind of protein...shrimp, turkey meatballs, ground turkey, etc:). I hope your knee feels better!

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  2. If you have the option of cooking, I vote that - so much easier when you have control over your food. I also go with the usual spaghetti/red sauce/protein combo. I just know it's easy on my stomach and won't give me problems on race day. Good luck...can't wait to hear about how awesome you did!

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  3. GOOD LUCK!! You'll do AMAZINGLY!! Just stick to something you are used to-nothing new!! I always have plain ol' pasta with tomato sauce and it works for me!

    Can't wait to hear how it goes!! :D

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  4. Good luck! New follower and new blogger too. I agree the elliptical is boring, but a good alternative to running when injured!

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  5. Good luck Stephanie!! I over-analyze everything before races too so I can totally relate. And I know the pressure probably feels that much worse because it's your first race back. But just try to have fun with it and think about how awesome it is that you're racing. As far as the meal goes - I would stick to what you know you run well on. No new foods and nothing super heavy. Pasta and bread are my go-to pre-race foods.

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  6. Thanks all for the comments! I appreciate the support :) You all are awesome and I am going to try the pasta and sauce! Welcome to the group Christy, excited to have you :) :)

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