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October 2, 2007
5 Days! Jitters, Butterflies and OH MY GOODNESS!
I know, totally ridiculous, verbose, and nervous title. I cannot think of an appropriate title - especially as I sit here anxiously swimming in my pre-race thoughts and jitters. My skin crawls and chills every time I think about the race . . . and tapering doesn't help. While I LOVE a good taper, I am suddenly finding myself extra shaky, jumpy and edgy. My legs are ready to rev up and run like bullets, but I *HAVE* to force myself to keep everything under control. Note to self: No PRS in training runs the week of the race (I made this mistake heading into the Milwaukee Marathon 2 years ago).
As far as training goes, I have done everything that I was supposed to do over the last few months to prepare my mind, heart, and body for this race. I have run everyday but Mondays, and I have religiously followed a schedule that called for tempos on Tuesdays, repeats on Thursdays, 12-15 mile strength and marathon pace runs on Saturdays and long runs on Sundays. I am confident and hopeful that the 4 weeks of hard 15 milers on Saturdays, followed by 20 milers on Sundays, have prepared me to RACE (not just run) miles 17-26.2. I am both stronger and leaner than I have ever been, and it's the first time since 2001 that I have approached the starting line of a marathon without an ache or an injury. Consistency is magic; let's hope it shines on Sunday!
People are already freaking out about the weather. Apparently, we are in for high temps, high humidity, strong winds and rain. I won't worry until Thursday, and even then, I will try to keep the weather woes to a minimum. I have trained through several lightning, thunder, and rain storms. It's not my favorite forecast, but it's also a variable - a wild card - that I cannot control for. Sure, I'll be bummed it we have to run through all of the above crap, but I refuse to let that zap my energy.
As far as times are concerned, I feel silly even admitting publicly what I hope to run. But my training indicate a 2:50 is possible. In an ideal world, a sub 2:50 would be sweeter than candy. But I am going to focus on 2:50 for now (which, I know, sounds insane). I will not be satisfied with just a sub 3 at this point . . . I feel like I have trained harder than a 2:59.
H. and I had a long talk about the race on Sunday . . . if H. thinks I can really run well, then I feel better :) So far, he has predicted all of my race times +/- 30 seconds or so. I am going to trust his wisdom and just run the splits he typed out for me (which are now hanging on my refrigerator!).
Anyway, I don't want to expend too much time thinking about time!
Needless to say, I am SCARED! Bill Rodgers once proclaimed that the "marathon will humble you." A true statement indeed. It is with great respect and humility that I am approaching October 7th.
Most importantly, though, I cannot wait to see my family and friends along the race course! I know that I will need to feed off of their energy in order to run my best . . . there's something energizing about hearing your name out there.
And for those of you who remember Margaret Bradley, this race is for her (it goes without saying that she would have been shooting for a 2:46:59).
Posted by bridget at October 2, 2007 6:27 PM
Comments
Bridget,
I've been following your training all these months, and I'm so excited for you this weekend! It goes without saying at this point that you've put in many, many training miles. It also goes without saying that you are in fine, very fine shape.
It's time to trust your training and your coach. Put your head down and run. Save all of your mental energies for those miles at the end of the race where it's mind over matter towards dream.
Best of luck, Bridget! I'll be "virtually" cheering for you!
Posted by: Meghan at October 2, 2007 9:41 PM
thank you so much, Meghan!
Posted by: bridget at October 3, 2007 8:56 AM
for sunday:
B R I D G E T ! ! ! ! !
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at October 3, 2007 4:41 PM
for sunday:
B R I D G E T ! ! ! ! !
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at October 3, 2007 4:42 PM
for sunday:
B R I D G E T ! ! ! ! !
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at October 3, 2007 4:43 PM
... not to dimish my support for your running, but i only meant to post one B R I D G E T. Sorry about the surplus posting :-)
It might be a rare case of subconsciuos keyboard-driven enthusiasm...
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at October 4, 2007 6:52 AM
good luck, have fun! i'll be there too, this will be my first chicago experience (3rd 'thon). i hope its awesome! the weather stinks but we trained hard, so lets go kick some butt.
Posted by: brent at October 4, 2007 7:37 AM
kick some ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: carrie g. at October 4, 2007 8:01 AM
yayyyyyyyyyyyy bridget!!!!! i will be following [read: stalking] you from my computer here in ann arbor!
Posted by: katie w at October 4, 2007 2:33 PM
Congratulations, Bridget! Way to hang in there despite the heat! So very proud of you.
Bridget Montgomery | Bib # 151 | Chicago, IL - USA | Age 27 | F
START 5K 10K 15K 20K HALF 25K 30K 35K 40K FINISH
0:19:59 0:40:20 1:00:40 1:21:03 1:25:36 1:42:04 2:04:03 2:26:51 2:50:12 3:00:38
TIME Chip Time: 3:00:38 Clock: 3:00:38 Pace: 6:53
Placement Overall: 218 Gender: 23 Division: 11
Posted by: Kit Wells at October 7, 2007 11:08 AM
Fantastic job, Bridget! Among the top 25 women - I am incredibly proud of you.
Posted by: Gerard at October 8, 2007 10:31 AM