No better therapy

I've decided that there is no better therapy than that of putting on my running shoes and going for a three mile run. Last night, I was in a mood and couldn't shake this weird feeling I had so even though it was an "off" night from running, I decided to put my running shoes on and head to the gym for a three mile run. By the time I was done, I was so exhausted I came home, took a shower, and fell asleep. It amazed me how much better I felt after I was done.

I keep thinking back on how far I've come in my training and how I never thought I'd make it to this point. I can't believe the half marathon is in four and a half weeks. Four and a half weeks?!? How did the last year go by so quickly?! The end is in sight and I can't believe it's almost time to meet my goal that I thought would never get here. This is it folks. We're in the home stretch of the biggest run of my life, the one I've been training for a year for. A year! And now it's the end of my training. Wow!

The hardest part of my training has been overcoming the mental barriers that still sometimes get in my way. That 15k was the hardest race I've ever finished and the distance wasn't the problem. My self-doubt was. I need to continually remind myself of how far I've come and that I CAN do this. I've been training for a year for this. There is NO reason I'm not ready for this half marathon. I've overcome injuries, illnesses, and setbacks to make it to where I am right now. Four and a half weeks from now I WILL conquer my goal!

I think my biggest fear with the half is all the hills. Cincinnati isn't exactly flat and there are several hills that terrify me. Denise has already given me several pep talks about them and has reminded me that it's okay to conserve my energy and to walk them. That doesn't make me a failure. It makes me smart so I don't hurt myself. I do need to hill train though so I'm headed to Athens next weekend (I'm pretty sure I am anyway) to hill train. I have to run 12 miles and Athens is so hilly that it's the perfect place to get both my mileage and my hill training in.

After next weekend's 12 mile run, I start scaling back because the race will be so close! I'm excited, scared, and nervous but I know I CAN and WILL finish this half marathon on May 1st! Bring on the Flying Pig!!