Is It Over Yet?

(Editor's Note: So I just re-read this whole post after letting it sit for a little bit. I kind of thought about not posting it, because it sort of makes me sound like a semi-crazy person. Then I decided I might as well, because at least it's honest. I am clearly a little loopy & spastic right now, for which I really, really apologize...I think I'll be a little more sound-of-mind again after Sunday. Again....sorry.)

I have been kind of a whole weird mess of emotions this week. There are many reasons for this.

• I am racing my first half marathon in over a year on Sunday.
  
• I have set a BAMF goal & been super vocal about it, which adds a lot of pressure because I used to not talk about my running goals to anyone ever, at all. (Sesa introduced me to the phrase BAMF goal, so brace yourself because I plan on using it quite a bit from now on.)
  
• My last half marathon race was pretty much a disaster. Theoretically I was chasing the same BAMF goal (see, told you), but kind of knew a good month out from the race that it wasn't going to happen.
  
• My taper weeks have been a little more taper-ey than I'd planned, which I know shouldn't make much different for the half Sunday, but it makes me very nervous about CIM.
  
• I can't stop being nervous for CIM.
  
• My last HMP run attempt was SUPER crappy.
  
• My brain is doing that annoying thing where I look back over my approximately seven billion weeks of training & starting picking holes in it & coming up with reasons for why I'm obviously not -really- well-trained for this race, -certainly- not well-trained enough for my crazy BAMF goal.
  
• I pulled my right hamstring at karate Monday and haven't been able to run for the last two days (after also not running on Saturday & Sunday in Paso)
  
• It's Thursday & I've run a grand total of six miles so far this week due to said hamstring; not being able to run always makes me anxious & melodramatic.
  
• Did I mention how I'm super nervous about CIM?
  
• It's been a slow week work-wise, meaning I've had more time than usual to stew over all of this.
  

Sigh.

So it's probably not terribly surprising that, after a year of being so pumped about kicking ass at this thing, I've been having a hard time this week getting excited about running Sunday. I'm kind of like, "Blah, is it Sunday yet? Is that damned race over yet? I wish Sunday would just get here so I can get it the eff done & not have to think about it anymore."

I need to get pumped about this race ASAP.

Reasons Why Clarksburg Half Marathon will be AWESOME:

Reason #1: The course doesn't look like a map of the freaking London Underground. Races with a lot of turns are hard for me. And they make me nervous. And just forget about running good tangents. This course?



Hellz yeah. (I also like how you spend just about equal time running in all four directions, because if there's strong wind in any one direction, it'll pretty much balance out.)

Reason #2: Flat, fast, & paved. I am all about a boring race course. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a nice view as much as the next girl, and the thrills, chills, & spills of running up & down crazy bridges & multiple 6% grades have their place. But that place is not in my BAMF goal race. Check this out:



The profile may make it look like there are a couple of good hills in there, but once you check the scale, you realize they're more like divets. That big one at the beginning & end (remember it's an out-and-back) is about 17 feet of elevation change over .9 miles (4752 feet), or 17 / 4752 = .003577, or ~0.3% grade. I think my front hallway is steeper than that. Central Valley for the win! (That may be the first time I've ever said/written that....)

Reason #3: Sweet weather. A November morning race in the Central Valley is hard to beat in terms of running weather. Earlier it looked like we might be in for some rain (which, whatever; I'll take a little rain over heat ANY day), but now they've revised the forecast:



The half starts at 9:15, so I'm guessing we'll be somewhere in the low fifties. I think that's pretty much the best you can ever hope for.

Reason #4: I will be dressed like a bad ass. It is only appropriate for someone pursuing such a BAMF goal. I don't want to give too much away, but I'm just saying. You may want to make sure you check back on Monday or Tuesday of next week to see my sweet race pictures. I plan on looking fast and edgy regardless of how I do time-wise. Here's a little teaser, though...



I wear arm warmers now. Arm warmers are cool. (Unless it ends up too warm. In which they will not be cool at all & will stay in my bag.)

Well...I guess that's about it. Feeling a little more pumped. About to head off for a run on the Embarcadero with some Bay Area blogger types; hopefully that will help as well. :)

Update: It helped a lot. :)