Two more sleeps – pre race nerves

I would love to say with the race only 2 days or 2 sleeps away, I am sitting here sipping beetroot juice and polishing off my quinoa salad, fully rested and prepared for Sunday’s half marathon. But that would be a lie.

It’s Friday evening and I am enjoying a glass of red after a fairly busy week at work, a week  full of nutritionally suspect meals and sleeping all over Europe ( well London, Trier and Edinburgh). A week of delayed flights, of hanging around airport lounges, of attending meetings and sleeping badly. A week of doing no running or any other kind of exercise unless you count hefting bags in and out of overhead lockers.

I think even elite runners experience pre race nerves, but for us amateurs the days before race day are the days of reckoning, and for me the recurring “why am I doing this question ?” keeps popping up. Followed closely by ” why did I not do more training?”

It’s reassuring, that as we are in Spring marathon prep season there are ‘how to’ articles a plenty on the topic of what to do if your training has not gone to plan, but comforting though these are, there is nothing I can do about the inevitability of me having to run 13.1 miles in two days time.

So – lets consider the pros and cons

Pros 

Its only two and a ( big ) bit hours of my life

I am being looked after by my brother and sister in law, who are very hospitable and I will be fed lovely food

They have a hot tub !!

My brother makes great Margueritas

I did manage 10 miles the other week

If I make it to the end regardless of time I will feel pretty good

Cons

Its two and a (big) bit  hours of my life

I have really not done enough miles this time

I have not followed any kind of training plan ( again )

I have an intermittent hip ache

I am getting too old for this

The weather forecast for race day is lousy

But hey – what the heck , like the dentist or an unpleasant hospital visit it will be over soon and I know I will feel worse if I don’t give it my best shot.