Race week.

Months and miles of training, all leading up to one morning to put it all out there and see what you’ve got. To hope what you think you’ve got is, in reality, what you’ve got. Dozens of weeks, thousands of steps, without wavering because the the task ahead does not care about excuses. No missed days, no missed workouts, no pity parties. Early mornings, late nights, some days both.

From not counting down to race day at all, to counting weeks, to counting sleeps.

From sweating August 20 milers to sweating the details.

And now — it’s nearly here.

***

It’s hard to say when this training cycle truly started. Working with a coach is different. Before, I’d pick a race and then pick a training plan some 12-16 weeks before the race. In-between racing and when the next training plan started, I’d just drift along, mostly.

There’s not much drifting now. There’s almost always structure and purpose, although not always intensity. This works for me, because I like routine and consistency. A lot.

Basically, I’ve been training since May 16 and it has been largely mundane. I had a couple of days with a pain in my butt that didn’t hurt running but bothered me in Pilates, so I had it dry needled just in case.

I raced five times in this span, with three PRs, two wins, a second and two fifth place finishes.

By the numbers:

  • Weeks of training: 25
  • Average weekly mileage: 60.7
  • Minimum weekly mileage: 50
  • Maximum weekly mileage: 76.5
  • Runs of 20+ miles: 7
  • Runs of 10+ miles: 59
  • Miles run: 1,567
  • Running streak: 175 days (through race day)
  • Pilates classes: 58

***

Goals: I prefer to keep my cards to my chest on this front. I race better when I don’t place external pressure on myself. Never fear, I have my A, B, and C goals. I also have mantras for sections of the race that I practiced during Saturday’s long run, and those will help me focus on how I should feel in each section.

Gear: New Balance 1400v4 in Team Elite color way, New Balance spandex shorts from a few seasons ago (before they messed them up), Drymax ultra thin socks from more than a few seasons ago, new PBT top (singlet or crop, TBD, photos soon).

Fuel: Hammer Nutrition Race Day Boost pre-loading, Hammer Nutrition Fully Charged pre-race, Hammer Nutrition gels (one before and 3-4 during the race), Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes and Endurolytes Fizz, Hammer Nutrition Recoverite after.

Catch you on the other side.