Race prep: the day before

Tomorrow's the big day. Are my legs ready to run 42km? More importantly, is my head? I sure hope so. Here's what I've done this week to prepare ...

I made it to a 90-minute hot yoga class on Thursday evening. I almost didn't go. I just could not make up my mind. But of course was so appreciative during and after. It was not an easy class. The teacher had us hold poses for long stretches, and my thigh muscles felt sore (spin class, could that be you?), but on the whole, it was a positive experience. My goal, going forward, is to get to two classes a week, again. That's the ideal. Reality is that there aren't a lot of time slots in my week to allow that to happen. But I'd like to try. I need the stretching. I like the heat and the time spent inside my own head.

Yesterday, Friday, I ran an easy 5.2km during my daughter's soccer practice. I was going to run just 3km, but couldn't help myself. I ran in it about 27 minutes, which works out to pretty close to race pace (marathon race, not 10km race), and it felt very light and easy. It wasn't meant to be a workout, and it didn't feel that way. It was meant to be a reassuring run, to remind myself that I've done the work, and that I know how to run. And that it feels really good to run, too. It was an excellent run for all of those reasons.

Today, I am taking off entirely. There seems no need to do another reminder run. I'll just get up early tomorrow morning and do the real thing.

And then ...

What comes next? How can I maintain momentum going forward? I like Tricia's suggestion of focusing on a particular kind of race for a season. I think I'd choose trail running. That might motivate me to get in touch with the running club that trains at my favourite trails. They no doubt do winter training, too. Would I like, also, to aim for the half-Ironman that goes next September? That does seem like a goal I'd enjoy pursuing. But I'd also like to rest for a little bit. Rest without getting out of shape. Maybe take a month where I choose more yoga than speed training, if you know what I mean. A get-flexible, strength-and-core-building month. I know if I want to do the half-Ironman, I'm going to need more swimming, more regularly. And that might mean switching up my swimming training, too, and adding in interval work and skill work, like I did the past summer in the triathlon training class. In fact, doing a class like that again would be really helpful. If I can find the time.

A thought on getting up early. I only got up early twice this week, and I find that it's actually harder to get out of bed at 7am than at 5:15am. That seems counter-intuitive, but the difference is the morning routine: it's much harder to get up for and get through when I'm just climbing out of bed at 7am along with everyone else. When I'm greeting my family after a lovely work-out, I'm just a much happier person. The morning runs more smoothly. I get more done in that hour between getting everyone out of bed and getting them out the door. So it is worth it to wake early, even though it means going to bed earlier too. Sigh. That's the part I'm having a hard time with, or at least had a hard time with this past week. I wanted to stay up and hang out with my husband, or go out with my siblings to debrief after my grandpa's funeral on the weekend. And so I did. And so I did not feel like setting my alarm for an early rise.

How to balance? Dunno. But this coming week, I'm going to take it easy. And then I'll reassess and set some new goals, and check my schedule, and figure out where to fit more in ... if more is what I choose. Or even where to fit just a minimum in. I'd love to yoga twice a week and swim twice a week. That's four workouts right there. I'm already spinning once a week. That's five. And I love to run. I'd love to run at least three and probably four times a week. More if I'm doing endurance training. So that's at least eight or nine workouts a week, and I only count seven days in the week. And everyone needs a day off.

Ideas? What are you doing? How are you scheduling your workouts and your life?