The Day :-)

The race is in 11hrs and 24 minutes. Yikes! I havent been thinking about it at all - I know I have to run but any strategy I might have had has been thrown out the window. All I know is - dont go out too fast, enjoy the scenery (havent ever run in this part of the country before) and enjoy it. I think the last part should be number 1!

Anyway, I did 35 minutes in the pool yesterday - 50 laps. It was so hard not to run because the mornings have been beautiful (comparatively) lately. 1.8 slow miles were on tap at 7am today.

I think it has been forecasted to rain - doesnt matter as long as its not windy.
I will type up a race report tomorrow - for now, I have an excellent trashy cake waiting to be devoured. Have a great weekend!

2 days to go!

It has been more than a little mentally exhausting keeping it together at this point. I am afraid I'm going to lose it on a run one of these days. A very windy morning awaited me and running in *any* weather is acceptable, except when its windy - I literally get blown away!

I wanted to bag it after 25 minutes but decided to go on - so one foot in front of the other. The legs are fine, but I just.dont.want.to.pound.the.streets for a while!

14 miles this am in 121 (yes, that one is important) minutes. I finished at 6.59am!

P.S. I made weight today - thank god! I will peak on Saturday - forgoing sugar for 48hrs shouldnt be too hard...:-)

Triple!

I'm supposed to be resting my legs in this final leg before the race - but I cant help it. I maybe be doing more harm than good but training for this has been an end in itself for me.

I ran only 5miles this am - 30mins. This was after 600 doubles on the stairs (1200 sprints) which I finished in 110 minutes. I swam 24 laps in 17 minutes to cool off. This was one of the better mornings weather-wise and it was nice to be out for almost 3 hours.

I wanted to get into the zone where the internal chatter would stop - essentially, reach a mental state where one is too tired to think. Did it work? Yes, for about 30 minutes!!

P.S. a great way that I have been getting my calories lately without having to constantly eat is to mash lots of avocado on very brown toast, sprinkling it with fluer de sel (yummy sea salt from Brittany) and topping it with muscatel raisins that have been plumped in hot water for a few minutes. I'm telling you - its the food of the gods!! I can easily down 3 avocados a day this way!

Cheerleaders!

I have been thinking about this alot. I hve a few people in my life that are my cheerleaders. My father being one of them. He leaps when Im happy, and hes a very proud father and tells people "she runs 10kms a week", before I interject saying "Uh...dad its a 100 *atleast*". Anyway, he means well and hes someone I love the most!

Anyway, every morning I have different cheerleaders. This is corny - I am warning you, stop reading if its going to make you roll your eyes. Trees are another kind of cheerleader. I notice every single difference in them from the last time I saw them - the branches give me a high five and the roots say a hello most days when they want. Its amazing how the world opens up to you when you switch your mindset just a little bit. On difficult runs - I actually imagine my core being led by the moon. Trust me, it works with a little bit of concentration.

Either this, or I'm just a happy idiot. Have a good day all. I am not running as much before Saturday. I did a 4 miler this morning. I had the most ultimate binge fest yesterday - on Bengali sweets. Whos eating with me in the wee hours on Sunday??

Finally - it works!

It has been impossible to access my blog from my laptop all weekend. Anyone who knows me knows how technologically inept I am - I have finally made the trek from the laptop in my room to the desktop in the study.

Saturday am was a fast 18 miles in 138 minutes.
Sunday was 9 miles recovery in 80 minutes.

I have been training for this race technically only since February. However, I was building up my base miles prior to that since I had lost all my fitness around November. I ran and won a 10k in December. This was a fluke - I still dont know how I managed to pull that off!

Training for distances like this teaches you more about who you are than the actual goal. For me, running is something I will continue to do till I'm 80. I know I talk about praying alot. I pray every single day and every single minute of my run. It has helped me in so many ways - I ask for strength, for company and I run with nothing but love in my heart. Love for everything around me and those couple of hours every morning - I feel pure joy; no matter what else the day brings as it goes along.

Sorry for this lame post - but I have been pondering why I do this every single morning. I'm not particularly talented and I am a bit mad - running gives it an outlet.

Thanks for reading - 10 very very tired miles this am followed by 12 laps in the pool. My tummy is still protesting. I have a very limited diet at the moment and this makes Aditi a very sad and grumpy girl :-(!