Cost of running

Hi everyone,

I won't replay the whole it's the final countdown song and all, but it's not fast approaching. Now I see how people say this is the hardest part. Soon, I won't be allowed to run, because of this whole "tapering" thing. I will get increasingly anxious and stressed about the race. And because I will get more stressed, I will want to run more...see the vicious cycle ahead???

Well, this is probably not going to happen. It seems I might have hurt myself :-(

My butt has been killing me for now 2 weeks, but most especially since last saturday. It's not a huge pain, more like a pinching. I guess there are worst places to hurt, but it's still not a pleasant feeling and it is not helping me to sleep (and rest) before the big day. Action is being taken - butt massage today :-) I'm telling you, it could be worse!

I am in great spirits after this saturday's run - I averaged 10:28 on the half marathon portion. The last sprint was GREAT! I increased speed to catch up with a fellow runner. Then I heard coach Frank tell me to "bring it home" and started my last 400m sprint. When I caught up with my fellow runner, he turned to me and told "let's sprint". At this point, my mind had decided NOT to finish behing my friend. I was already at my max sprint speed, but my mind had decided otherwise and we finished together. Runners behind me congratulated me on that last effort.

What is to be noted is that I had to stop for a full minute to stretch out a cramp during the race. The cramp did not go away, it actually then started spreading up and down my leg to my butt and to my toes. When I stopped running, my body took control again and yelled "I am in pain!!!!"

What I have learned from my books and from my training is that my mind is a bitch, one kick ass bitch! If I have decided that I will not finish this race walking, or stopping, then that won't happen. Saturday proved that much to me.

For giggles, here is a picture of me along the way saturday...with a smile on my face of course!

Cheers to all,