- Thursday 10/8: I leave for Chicago; Upon arrival the cousins and I are going out to dinner to celebrate our birthdays!!! (We Morgan's are all Libra girls)
- Friday 10/9: EXPO!!!! B.o.B is meeting Michelle & I there and we hope to meet up with other bloggers/runners. After expo we're having a girl's night out! Yay!
- Saturday 10/10: The rest of the fam gets into town; B.o.B., Michelle and I head up to the city to the check in to our hotel and then they are off to paint the town red whilst I attempt sleep.
- Sunday 10/11: RACE DAY!!! Run, Cry, Run, Cry, Run, Cry... for 26.2 miles, fall into a blubbering mess at the finish line and then be dragged somewhere to eat glorious food of which I fully intend on consuming; steak, carrot cake and a Shock Top in no particular order.
- Monday 10/12: Walk 2 miles... become one with cousin's couch.
- Tuesday 10/13: Carpool w/ Spike back to the homeland to spend the rest of the week visiting the Michigan Fam. (If I come up missing please alert the authorities of their prime suspect)
- Wednesday 10/14: Family bonding - Attempt first post-marathon run; 1-2 miles
- Thursday 10/15: 3 miles - Continue Family Bonding - Celebrate Birthday
- Friday 10/16: Recover from Birthday; So much bonding
- Saturday 10/17: 6-8 miler body depending; Camping/Getting drunk with Fam (the best kind of bonding)
- Sunday 10/18: Back to O-town (Home Sweet Home) upon arrival go out to dinner with friends to celebrate birthday and marathon
Oh wait... ya'll meant my RACE plan.
Well to be frank... That's for me to know and you to find out. (Yes, I am still 10 years old.) But seriously, after that freak out I had awhile back it got me thinking... why am I putting unnecessary pressure on myself when this is my FIRST marathon? I mean, it's a guaranteed PR and I'm not trying to BQ... So that was when I made the executive decision that my race goal is:
TO FINISH.
Initially I had an aggressive time in mind but after reading so many marathon recaps that ended with carnage and disappointment, I have since taken a step back and decided I'll worry about my time the next go round... this one is for ME. I'll never have another first marathon and I want to make it count. I want to look back and fondly remember the experience, the finish line and conquering the 26.2.
So that's the plan man. Not the juicy details ya'll were hoping for but what can I say... I'm a tease.
Florida Fall Update: At 6am when Therese and I started our run it was 70 degrees and little to no humidity! I attempted testing out the Zensah sleeves but made it one lap before they were too hot. Oh well... bring on the cooler temps! YAY!!!
T-MINUS 10 DAYS TIL CHICAGO!!! I swear I'm so excited I might spontaneously combust!!!
37 comments:
great plan. :-)
Watch out for that Spike...he's a little...eccentric. If he starts singing inappropriate songs in the car or stops at every Taco Bell he passes, just go with it...you'll be fine. But whatever you do, don't ask him about the names of his shoes...
(All jokes aside, I'm very fond of him, he's great, I know he'll probably read this, which is why I said it.)
Great plan....hope it goes very well=)
Stopping by from SITS
Girl I feel like it's Christmas Eve and I am 7 years old. How much longer???? Longest 10 days of my life.
Loving this weather for sure!
Yes, enjoy the first one before you pressure yourself into a time goal. Finishing is B-I-G! Enjoy it. Cheers.
Wow! Great plan and great trip!
I love your philosophy about your goal: to finish. That is pretty much my unspoken goal for every half I run. It sounds like you have the right attitude! Now if you can just sleep the night before the big race! ;)
Amanda
What a great plan!! You are going to do GREAT!!!! Can't wait to hear about the experience!!
Best Plan EVER!
Most new marathoners fail to realize that their plan will likely change several times on race day and during the race.
You on the other hand are keeping it simple. Brilliant!
IT is all about you and this is your first time. Enjoy it!
I got caught up on how I should finish and what my time should be--blah, blah, blah---but really, the true thing of importance here is that you are doing it. Not how fast or where you place within your age group, but that you accomplished this goal. You are amazing, Morgan. I bet that carrot cake will be perfect, too!
Love the plan - both race and non-race. I am a big believer in running your first simply to finish. That is such a huge accomplishment in itself. Plus, you want to set the bar low so it's easy to beat next time. ;)
10 days! WOO!
Yea! Here's to FINISHING! The day you get back to O is the day I'll be running my 26.2! You make an excellent point that it's a guaranteed PR! How funny! I can't wait for my race...WAIT!?!?! Does that mean my race is only 18 days away? PANIC MODE!!!!
Loved the post! Do whatcha gotta do lady and relish in every minute of it.
Annnnnd drink copius amounts of beer when you finish :)
Good luck. Don't let the excitement of the race put you off your pace goal. 26.2 is a looong way, and better to have that energy at mile 20 than to burn it up blistering the first 3 miles. Even as I type this, I now do that all the time in my races and my pacing is always bad; so that is a prime example of "do as I say, not as I do."
But your long runs will be great training. You really are going in strong and few first timers have anywhere near as much long runs as you.
ahhhhh! Ten more days!!! That is soooo exciting!
I love your idea for running your first marathon just for you, with no time goal in mind. I think this is a great idea; you'll get to enjoy every single painful moment of it, and be soooo happy you finished, not being worried the entire time weather you are gonna beat your time or not. Haha, yeah, its a guaranteed PR!
I can't wait to read about all the fun stuff you've got coming up!
I'm glad you're not trying to kill yourself any more. :o)
You are one smart cookie! Just finishing is an accomplishment and you will know once you start running, what you are capable of. So excited for you. I like your recovery plan, too. You might be surprised though, especially with all your awesome training, you might be up for more miles. After my first, I couldn't wait but a day to go out and run long again!
Yay for 10 days to go!
yes, I will stop at every Taco Bell on the way home, even if it means we get home at exactly 5:09pm Michigan time. :)
How exciting! I'll be thinking of you when I cross the 13.1 mi finish line the same day! Rock on. And I love "It's my first marathon, it's a guaranteed PR"...oh so true! Get out there and rock it, you'll do great and I have a feeling that you're going to have a blast!!!
That is the right attitude. But remember, each and every step is YOURS and only yours. That perspective should never change. Any time goals should be able to accomodate this philosophy:)
What an excellent plan! Sounds like you are well prepared, both physically and mentally.
Have fun!!!!
I am really excited for you- this is SO close!
This is going to sound like I am your mom but I'm going to say it anyways, make sure you don't stay out too late on Friday night because they say the sleep two nights before is the most important, and lets be honest you probably won't get a ton of sleep on Saturday night.
I can't believe you are going to walk 2 miles on Monday- I think I would not move haha. Good for you though!
Hahaha - you're so funny. Lol. I think it's GREAT you're not putting too much pressure on yourself! It's your FIRST MARATHON, enjoy it!
That's what I did my first half, goal was to FINISH, no time goals what-so-ever. Now, there's no going back! Every half I do I want to be faster than my last!!
I honestly think you are going to surprise yourself. You have managed to get through what I would consider to be some pretty rigorous training and you are still healthy.
Take care on race day and just DON'T go out to fast.
All the best Morgan!
at least you actually trained for your first :) i didn't, and still thought i'd bq. haha. hard-headed... i know. definitely have fun with it and just enjoy every moment!
Hooray for cooler temps here! I think your plan is awesome!
"Run, Cry, Run, Cry, Run, Cry... " hee, hee, I hope it's more run than cry ;)
I like your race plan. Just finish. IT'll be special.
YESSS!! it breaks my heart when people run their first marathons and dont get their finish time and are so disappointed... the first one is about the experience and crossing that finish line and NOTHING should take away from that accomplishment :)
dude. don't combust. that's just messy and unnecessary ...
It sounds like you have a lot of fun times planned. I hope you also plan on blogging the entire time, because otherwise I'm going to die. And frankly, no one would notice until the smell ...
i think it all sounds amazing! I know you will rock it and then at least you get to crash after!
Wow, you're my hero. I ran yesterday and everything hurts today. Bad outcome :(
good luck in chi-town!!!!!!!!
Enjoy that shock top at the end, you deserve it! Love that beer, even if I don't drink beer anymore! What a great way to celebrate your birthday too! I think your race goal is perfect. You will do great!
you are going to have such a great time with the race and the vaca!!
enjoy every moment!
I love love love your plan! I can't believe your plan stretches out for a week after the race...most people can't plan that far!
It's so true...you never get a chance to run your first marathon again so revel in the excitement and run for the pure enjoyment of being a runner. It should be a celebration of all you've accomplished to get to that point. You're so right not to worry about time because you'll have the rest of the marathons you will ever run to worry about that. For this one, just concentrate on you, getting started, and then getting home (the finish)
So excited for you! Congrats on getting to this point! You're gonna do awesome!
I think that's the best plan ever! Just run and have fun. It's so simple! You'll do great! :-)
This sounds like a great plan! Let me tell you, as one who knows, going into your first marathon with a time goal can (and usually does) end in devastation. I basically almost died of heat exhaustion in my first marathon and fininshed and hour off of my goal time. I was humiliated and depressed for weeks . . . when really, I should have been REALLY pumped that I had run a g-damn marathon!
Take it all in, have fun and SMILE. If you do those things, you'll be just fine :)
I like the Shock Top portion of your plan. :) Enjoy marathon #1. I like that plan too. I already have visions of a goal time dancing in my head for my 1st in May, and I haven't even started training. Def easy to do. Thanks for the reminder to just enjoy. You never get a 2nd chance at your first.
You're so cute, and I'm so happy for you. :) Reading your PLAN was a blast, especially after being treated to a few of those details in person.
Hugs to you my funny redhead bloggy friend,
r.
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