The Earth Day Half Marathon is coming up this Saturday. I've been reporting for a few weeks that my goal this year is more centered on having a strong race, not necessarily a fast one, not a personal best. At work today, a colleague asked if I was running on Saturday to which I replied that I would be "participating." She thought that sounded like a great idea, especially considering the weather we've had to train over the last month. Sometimes as runners, we set our expectations so high that we set ourselves up for disappointment. Look up and down the halls at your workplace or around your neighborhood and ask yourself, "How many people near me would be over the moon to finish a half marathon, 5K (or fill in the blank of your race distance)?" Unless you work in the copy room at Runner's World Magazine, most of the people you encounter daily neither could imagine themselves finishing a road race nor have any idea if the time you ran is good or not. They are happy for you to be able to train and do your race; don't be so hard on yourself! Once again, my town did not get hit nearly as hard as Stephanie's with the latest snowfall. We also did not get any snow day time away from school like she did. Charlie and I ventured out this morning complete with clickers on my shoes. It was a little tricky to find roads that were merely icy and not rutted, but we did alright. Another group of runners who had to adjust their expectations were the Boston marathoners. The temperatures were in the low 40's with rain and strong headwinds. The women's winner was an American woman, Desi Linden. She was the first American woman to win Boston in about 30 years and also the slowest winning time in around 40 years. Does anyone think Desi should be sad or disappointed about her time? Of course not! The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious marathons in the world and an American winner is reason to celebrate.
I'm doing my best not to let myself get worked up for Saturday's race. I'm going to set reasonable expectations and have a fun day out there. If nothing else, it will be a treat to go out for a nice long run and have someone else have the water cups and snacks ready along the way. Plus, the race shirt is a super cute hoodie and with the weather we've had, most of us Minnesotans have worn out our warm sweatshirts and could use a new one! Happy running--Missee
1 Comment
Stephanie
4/17/2018 12:54:25 pm
Good luck on the race!🍀🏃🏽♀️
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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