Running with Jack

...about how much I hate the last 24 hours before a big race. It’s kinda like the last half-hour before the start, but stretched out for a longer time. You know you have done everything possible to get ready, you just waiting around, twiddling your fingers, waiting for someone to say “Okay you can run now!”. There is a little nervousness involved, but actually it more impatience than anything. It’s a little bit like when I fly home to my parents in New York. I rush to the airport to get checked in, clear customs and then – wait and wait, can’t we just get on the plane and go!

And I’m always hyped up before a race too. I mean normally I train so much that I’m pretty much reined in with fatigue to some degree or another. But after a couple weeks of tapering my race glands are flowing and I have zillions of race ideas flowing through my head.

I try to avoid online race listings during this time – I never know when I will sign up for a marathon, ultra, or worse during this spastic time. I was one click away from submitting my application for an 80K Ultra last night – the one on June 24th. The only thing that stopped me was the thought of my wife’s reaction – “What, you haven’t even lived through your 50K yet!”.

I can imagine that my wife kinda hopes that I will end up crawling over the finish line tomorrow with my last breath, collapsing onto the nearest stretcher – because she has pretty much figured out that if I arrive with too much energy that I will no longer be satisfied with “just” 50K.

My wife knows me, oh how she knows me! In any case I will have a good 6-7 hours tomorrow to think about how I can talk her into supporting an 80K (50 mile) race adventure. Or maybe those hills will kick my butt and leave me whining and licking my wounds, stay-tuned...



p.s. Blogger is messing around with me again, first I couldn't post this, then it posted twice - blah!