Pass Me The Crayons

I'm colouring outside the running lines this week.  We'll see if it turns out to be a good idea or if I should just stick to paint by number running.

The plan this week, according to our running schedule, was to run 13k on Tuesday, run hills on Thursday and then run 22k on Saturday.  

I am not doing that.  

I did run 13k on Tuesday.  So far so good. 

Tonight's hill workout had to be passed up because I consistently get injured doing hills during the last month of training before a race.  So I've learned after many panicked trips to my fabulous massage therapist Janice that it's just not worth it to run hills four weeks out.  So I don't.  Even though I want to.  Even though there are deadly hills along the race route.  Even though all my friends are out there running them.  

Instead I ran 30 minutes along a very flat course.  Which seems like a pretty wimpy alternative to hills I know but there is method to the wimpy-ness.  

See, I'm also not running 22k on Saturday.  

I'm going to run 27k tomorrow instead.  

Let me add a qualifier here.  We have an amazing running coach and he has designed a really good, sensible training plan for Around the Bay.  I trust him and I truly believe that his plan will get all of us runners across that finish line.  

The reality is that I know myself and I know what things cause me stress.  

I need to have run almost the full distance (if not more than the full distance) of a race before race day or my mind doubts my body's ability to cross that finish line.  Our schedule had us peaking at 25k which is just not quite long enough for my mental health. 27 feels better.  If I imagine the actual race route, 27k gets me to the top of the awful last hill in the race.  As Doug says, it's all downhill from there to the finish line.  

So, I ran 30 minutes today just to keep the legs moving.  I run 27k in the morning.  

The route is mapped out.  Doug is tasked with driving out to meet me at the 1 hour 45 minute mark to refill my water and eload, replenish my carbohydrate stashes, take my gloves, pat my head and tell me that I'm doing a great job and already way past half way.  

If I start at 9am as planned, I will not be home until almost 12:30pm.  That's a freaking long time to run.  

So tonight I'm stretching, trigger pointing, drinking tons of water and pretending it's race day tomorrow.  

No bib, no shirt, no medal...but the peace of mind that comes with knowing that there will be a few less demons to conquer on March 27.