The Waiting

Tom Petty sang about it back in '81 and it still holds true. The waiting is the hardest part.


There is a lot of waiting going on in our household lately. Top on the hit parade is this little lady:

Cute little baby face

 Baby girl is due in about a month. Mama is ready to go any time she's ready to make an appearance.

The other thing I'm waiting for is the Brooksie Way Half Marathon, which is on Sunday, September 30. I've been ready to go for a couple weeks now, and even more so after the past week.

Last Sunday, we had the Brooksie Way practice run. As I hadn't run the course since last year and because I hadn't run 13.1 miles since March (my recent long runs have been in the 10 mile range), I thought it would be a good idea to participate. I ran with a few people from my half marathon team from work. My goal was to run the course "easily" with steady pace, and that is what I did. Other than on a couple of Brooksie's infamous hills, I was never really breathing hard and just concentrated on my pace and strides. I was helping a teammate finish strong, so I tried to go up hills at a good pace and slowed on the down hill to let her catch up. It seemed to work pretty well as she set an unofficial PR in a practice run (and hopes to drop about 5 minutes next Sunday).

We ran the course in a little over 2:10, which is about 20 minutes longer than I hope to run next Sunday. I think I made the correct decision to not push too hard and not race the thing. I was able to get the confidence that the distance shouldn't be a huge issue, my legs got the work and I relearned the course.

 

I am as ready as I think I can be for this race. With Princess C on the bike Tuesday after work. I had a great 5k run. I felt really strong, my legs felt strong - I can only hope I get something close to that on race day. This morning I had a decent run as well, doing half of a half marathon at about 30 sec / mile off race pace. There is a balancing act between staying fresh and keeping "in practice" and not doing too much and injuring or straining myself. I really wish the race was tomorrow as I'm having "taper madness", even if it is only for another week. I need to get through the week, do as well as the race as I am capable of, and get ready for baby time. I think the race is keeping me occupied and I'm not as anxious about baby girl and the whole birthing process (believe me, I know I have the easy part in this) as I otherwise would be.

After the race, the rest of the racing calendar for the year is blank. I plan to race, but will do so as our family schedule allows. I still have 5k and 10k goals to hit for the year, but if mama, baby or the kiddies need me, running races is a very minor consideration.

The waiting is the hardest part, but I think I'm ready for it all. Ready as anybody can be. Sing it Steven!