Moments Matter

Our lives are made up of moments. I am 25 years old and I have had some of the best moments of my life these past six months training with Nike Women. This evening I powered through a three mile run on the treadmill and I had one of those moments. I can't explain how or why, but I was having a rough day and to be honest my last week of training for the Nike Women's Marathon has been tough. When I got on the treadmill I wasn't expecting much. I surprised myself with how good my run felt today. I forgot my GPS watch and my iPod and was able to just run and get lost in my thoughts, or no thoughts at all. It was one of the best feeling runs I have had in a while. I wasn't trying to be something I'm not or run too fast or slow, I was just in my comfort zone.

I hope that this feeling lasts throughout my 26.2 on October 14. I think sometimes I am over-thinking training and how I am running. Sometimes I just need to let go. It's so important to just live in the moment and let it play out. Today I was present where I was and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I was living in the moment.

As the ten-day countdown to NWM begins tomorrow I plan on living in the moment and working on mentally being present when I run. Focus, determination and mental toughness are huge during race performance and I need to get into the racing mindset before race day. 

This weekend I am packing for my race, working on planning my nutrition for the weekend and focusing on the upcoming race week. I have one nine mile long run planned for Sunday and then a fairly light running week. I plan to make the most of every moment these last ten days.

As race day looms near, how do you prepare for the big moment?