Excited

I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time I was this excited for a race. My last big race was the Harrisburg Marathon back in November, which I dreaded more than I care to admit. The other races I did last year were either more casual races that I did not train specifically for or it was my first time at that distance so I was more nervous than excited.

The week leading up to a race is so important for how I do in that race. After the New York City Marathon got cancelled I didn't know whether I wanted to run a different marathon or not but I felt like I had to because so many people told me I should. From the minute I woke up on race day through mile 22ish I was miserable.

So today marks the first day of race week for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I signed up for this race back in November a few days after finishing my first marathon. My goal for this race at the time was to break 2 hours. I had set my half marathon PR at the Baltimore Half Marathon in October, which was right in the middle of marathon training. I ran a 2:03:00 unexpectedly, giving me a taste of how close I was to running a sub-2 half.

When I signed up for the race I had no plan for how I was going to break two hours, I just knew I wanted to do it. I wanted to take a break from running while gearing up for finals and then focus on training once 2013 rolled around. I didn't plan to start working with a coach to train for this race, although I had been thinking about getting a coach for a little while.

Spotted in DC!

When the opportunity arose to work with Mike from Endurance Multisport in Lancaster, Pennsylvania I was elated. Being a swimmer for ten years conditioned me to listen very well to coaches. At the end of my swimming career I coached myself due to issues with my coach at the time and I loved having that freedom. I'm proud of what I accomplished without the help of a coach but I know in my heart I would have done even a little bit better if I had stayed with my coach.

Even after a few days of working with Mike I knew I was going to like having a coach again. Besides knowing so much more about how to train than I do, having a coach holds me accountable. I am conditioned to do what my coach tells me. So now after 15 weeks of training under Mike I am getting ready to see how we did.

I saw more progress than I ever imagined in both my speed and mentality towards running. Despite having my ups and downs during training, I learned so many invaluable things about myself as a runner and a person. Now it's time to take all this and channel it towards my race this weekend. I am excited to finally put all this hard work to the test.