Down time before a big race is enough to drive you mad. I find it strange that running is a great stress reliever for me and because of the taper for Boston I am doing less of it, but stressing more because of the upcoming event! It just doesn't seem fair. I always joke with Brett saying that "ten miles a day keeps the demons away!" Meaning my demons of course. I'm not really that screwed up, but you know what I mean.So now it's a waiting game. I just keep sitting around wondering if my various little pains are getting better? Hoping that I'm not coming down with something. Watching weather updates in Boston. I like a quote from The Untouchables when Sean Connery says "Don't wait for it to happen...don't even want it to happen. Just see and react to what does happen." I also like the Fog of War idea where no matter how good your plans are, they're going to go to hell once the battle starts. Eventually you've got to put things in God's hands and just do what you do.
I'm probably making me sound like more of a head case than I really am. I've always thought that I'm not really that talented of a runner, but I've performed better than others because I'm more stable mentally and don't get rattled in races too easily. In college our team would work with a sports psychologist and he would always talk about finding your optimal arousal level. Which basically refers to your level of mental and physical excitement before or during a race. I've always been good at controlling my emotions. Sometimes I'll make myself nervous if I feel like I don't care about a race, or I'll have to cool myself off if I'm thinking too much about an event. Be sure to use that term in conversation this week. Tell someone you're trying to find your "Optimal arousal level." You might get slapped depending on who you're talking to.
The ticks are running out meow and it's time to see if the explosion goes in my favor or no. I've had this theory that in the end marathons come down to luck. Sometimes you do everything right and still turn in a sub par performance and other races you are barely in shape and just rock out. I know that my brother and I are as prepared as we can be considering some minor injuries and what not. Now we're just waiting for the Boom!
(Picture above is from the 2007 Memphis Marathon where the explosion went against me.)
Bryan Baddorf
You look like you have been shot in that picture!
ReplyDeleteI always liked when Dr. Czech, our sports psych guy, would tell us to picture things mentally during a race - like taking an imaginary elixir of some kind that makes you feel great, or your shoes as light as feathers, and so on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteThis morning on the way to work I realized something about Boston that works in nicely to this post. I've been worrying about a lot of the small things Bryan mentions here, or if the explosion will be against me or not. Then I realized, "I'm going to run the Boston marathon and this is going to be fun." So for now I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm looking forward with excitement to the explosion and either way it's going to be an adventure that will not soon be forgotten.
Of course I'm hoping and planning on the best, but sometimes it's when the worst happens that we have to stand up and see who we really are... Boston offers a great opportunity for that. I'm going to grow either side of the explosion and I promise this now - either way I'm going to walk away thankful!
Oh and Bryan had just been shot previous to that picture! It was just a different kind of bullet.
ReplyDelete