Ready To Run 13.1 in Jamestown

It's really difficult to find time to blog during the summer when all three kids are with me all day long, and so many of our evenings are filled up with fun summer activities. My alone time these days is pretty much limited to my workouts - thankfully I still have time for those!

Jamestown is in just a few days, and I have to admit, I'm feeling kind of blah right now. If you had asked me last week, I would have answered completely differently - I had a fabulous track workout last Tuesday, and a great tempo run last Thursday, and I was so excited and optimistic and ready to race!

But then I went for a 10-mile run this past Sunday, and I was dragging my heels the ENTIRE time. It was warm, but not that bad (I left the house at 6am), so I don't think I can really blame it on the heat. It was just one of those runs where every step felt like a struggle.

I didn't let it get me worried, though - bad runs happen, and you just have to move on and hope the next one is better. Only problem is, my next one wasn't.

This morning was track time, and I had a shorter workout planned, due to the race being right around the corner, so I figured it wouldn't feel too tough. I was wrong. I ran with my regular track partner (so happy to have a regular track partner, by the way!), and we hit all our paces exactly as we were supposed to, but it felt so much harder than it did last week.

I'm not stressing out about it, though. It is what it is, and as I've said all along, I want to have a good race this weekend, but I also just want to have fun, so I'm not going to flip out if I run slower than I think I should. I'm hoping I can come in somewhere around 1:45, and I feel like I should be able to pull that off, but it might not be in the cards this time, and if it isn't, so be it.

When I signed up for the Triple Crown, I told myself that the Newport half in October was going to be my "A" race for the year, and I'm sticking with that. So this one is just a fun stepping stone in the middle, and I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, especially since, aside from keeping up with regular track workouts, I haven't really done any race-specific training.

I am very much still looking forward to a brand-new - and very scenic - race course; running a half-marathon Garmin- and iPod-free; and meeting up with some other Rhode Scholar bloggers after the race. It'll be a fun way to spend the morning : ) 

And the best part is that I'll be able to run my race and still be home in time to head off to the beach for the rest of the day with my boys! I know a 6:30am race start is not appealing to many, but in my book, it's perfect! 

Here's hoping for nice weather, a 1:45-ish finish, and a fun race!

For more from Michelle, check out Me and the Boys, her blog.