2 Parts Excitement, 1 Part Anxiety - Countdown to Race Day

My second half marathon is days away and I have been delaying writing about my race goals due to my increasing anxiety. It's easy to distract yourself with the fun stuff, putting your outfit together and planning what to eat.  The really daunting part is identifying your goals for the race.  Once your goals are out there for the world to see, it is scary if you don't actually achieve them.

I would love to say that I am the easy breezy non-competive type.  I am not, I am type A to the core.  On a positive note, which makes me somewhat likable to others, is that I am only competitive with myself.  Lucky for me I have my own personal time to beat of 2:24:19.  I have my speedier sister in law to thank for that time, since she pushed me more than I would have if I plodded along by myself.  

This time however, I am running by myself.  This is freeing and scary at the same time.  I can set my own pace, but there is no one there to talk to or help me push past my comfort zone.  I am going to have to rely on myself to get through those 13.1 miles.  So it is out there, I want to beat my time.

I read a lot, one of my favorite running blogs is Another Mother Runner written by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea.  In one of their blog posts they talk about identifying multiple goals for your races.  I like this idea because even if you don't meet your first one, you can revise your game plan and try to achieve the other goals.

So my other goals for this race are to finish and to have fun.  A wise friend of my mine once said "if it isn't fun, don't do it." I think once you realize that a time goal has slipped through your fingers the only thing left to do is suck it up, have fun and cross the finish line with a smile instead of a scowl.  This is important for your mental well being as well as vanity, who wants a sullen looking race photo.

Now, that I've got the goals out there, I can focus on the fun stuff again.

DO YOU GET ANXIOUS BEFORE A RACE? HOW DO YOU MANAGE IT?