Ready-ish

I ran my favorite run today.  A perfect fall afternoon at just the right temperature and just the right time of day.  AND, I saw only three other runners and two cars.  If you're from this area, Ridge Road is one of those cat-out-of-the-bag running meccas that only the locals know about.  But, turns out, there are usually a ton of locals there.  And for good reason.  It has hills, gravel, scenery, quick flats, and is just challenging enough to keep it interesting but doable enough to keep you coming back.  It's that one run that you would do if you only had one run left.  Well, that's a bit dramatic, but it is great.  :)

Anyways, on a day like today, I usually try and keep my mind off serious things and just look around at how amazingly beautiful the area I live in can be.  This proved a problem not only because I'm one of those people who tends to trip over things standing still but also because I was in a serious running kinda mood.  I suppose thats what an awesome run like today can do, get you jazzed up for more running.

Most everyone else's season is winding down and mine is just heating up.  I'm getting to high mileage and that means for the next 7 1/2 weeks, it's buckle down time.

...  slight deviation here but JD on Scrubs just answered his door in a onesie.  There are only a few people who will know how much my husband is enjoying this right now ...

So back to training.  Buckle down time means not only never missing a run but hitting all my mileage and paces until race day.  It means going to bed early, eating right, core work, constant stretching, and doing neurotic things like running up and down your 200 foot driveway to get that last quarter of a mile.  Anyone who's spent as much time as it takes to train for a distance race right knows how all consuming the last few weeks can be.  

Why am I taking this one so seriously?  I'm trying for a certain time.  No, I'm not writing it here.  Because that would make it entirely too real and I reserve the right to stand at the start line and change my mind - I need that safety net, so sue me.  I've definitely gone out for times and pushed myself before but the difference with this one is that it might just be out of my reach.  And, I'm totally not trying to be arrogant here, but I've never not reached a goal I've set for myself.  Here's the thing though, the not being arrogant part, I've never really set a goal that I knew I couldn't achieve.  And this one, I'm not so sure about.  

I know, at the end of the day, I can always go out for that time again, no big deal.  But what that means is another year of base miles, speed work, repeats, and thinking ahead to one race.  One day.  __ hours and ___ minutes.  I'm ready for this to be over.  But I'm only ready if it works out in my favor.  Totally chicken, I know.

Don't you wish it was as simple as getting amped up to go for a walk or chase something outside?  Something like deeries? Do you?  Do you want to get those deeries?  Do you?!