No more speed work, no more schnooks, no more Stevil dirty looks

No more speed work, no more hills, no more long runs — for now. Yup the hay is in the barn, the money’s in the bank, the bun is in the oven (well actually it’s in my mouth and it’s a new kind of bun called a “chocolate covered donut”) and it’s time to taper.

Ahhh, I heart the taper.  It’s the only time – ever – I can lie on the couch, watch some quality TV (thank you Extreme Couponers) and know for sure I’m not slacking.

But I have to admit, I’m nervous.

I know,  my race day goal is to “have fun” and surely, the fireworks attached to my race hat will help with that,  but there’s just something in my DNA that gives me pre-race jitters. How will I survive the freezing 4-hour pre-race wait? What if there aren’t enough port o’ potties along the route? What if I don’t finish?  What if Lindsay Lohan shows up late at the morgue again?

To calm my nerves, I’ve done a few things:

— Talked race strategy with Stevil – Go with the flow for the first 5K or so, try and maintain a 5:30pace for as long as I can. Have fun. Enjoy the experience. Finish.
— Talked race outfit with the crew I am running with – Canada shirts with our names across the front, socks, shoes, pajama jeans, the usual.
— Vodka shots

I also pulled out some Silvia Ruegger inspiration – remember her? She holds the Canadian record for fastest female marathon and spoke to my running group last month. Her message? Even if you suck it big time on race day you’re still a  wicked awesome person for trying.

Why? Because training for a race changes you. It doesn’t just make you stinky it makes you:

A person of courage
“There are never any guarantees of what is going to happen on race day,” Says Silvia. “So every step you take, every sacrifice you make towards that goal requires risk. That makes you courageous.”

A person of perseverance
“When we get knocked down it changes who we are. When we fall, when we are down on the ground and we ask – am I going to get up or am I not going to get up? And we say I’M GOING TO GET UP!  and we get up and we keep going. It changes who we are and we are richer after that.”

A person of great inspiration
“Our world is looking for people who actually walk the talk. Who actually say they are going to do something and then they do it.”

A person of audacious hope
“I love the word ‘audacious’,” says Silvia. “It doesn’t mean unrealistic. It doesn’t mean impossible, it means bold and daring.  You may have something in your life that before you started on this journey when you came up against it, you thought ‘Nope can’t do that.’ Now – when you come up against it, you say “How can I do that?” and you find a way.”

So I guess that’s my new running mantra. Come kilometer 37 on November 6, I’ll be the crazy lady chanting her way through Central Park “Courage, perseverance, inspiration, audacious hope – COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE, INSPIRATION, AUDACIOUS HOPE – COURAGE, PERSEVERANCE, INSPIRATION, AUDACIOUS HOPE.”

Will it work? Give me two weeks and I’ll let you know. In the meantime you can find me in my sweatpants, on the couch, under the Doritos, rocking the taper.

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