The Half Marathon I'm doing in 3 WEEKS & Unplugging

Alright, so I FINALLY pulled the plug on a half marathon that I'm racing during this training cycle and it's in 3 WEEKS! I'm so excited (especially after seeing the awesome race swag (you have to check out their facebook page) that they've done in past years and because it's in another state that I can check off) and will be running the Jackson Hole Half Marathon during Labor Day weekend! 

The race looks like it gains little elevation overall and honestly looks like an amazingly organized event. I'm so excited to go there with Alex and Stella and since it's early Saturday morning, we'll have the rest of the weekend to explore Yellowstone some more (we went there about 2 years ago) and just relax. It always makes it easier when a race is at the beginning of a vacation/ weekend away. 

We are camping for the weekend (one night in Grand Tetons Nat'l Park & the other two nights in Yellowstone) and the course is run mainly on their bike paths (which are seriously so amazing). I CAN'T WAIT! I'd like to try to get in under 1:55 (and utilize some miles as my marathon pace). I'm still thinking about my race strategy, but thinking my first 3 miles will be a warm-up (around 9:00 pace), then 7 miles at marathon goal pace (8:46ish), and if I'm feeling good bump it up to around 8:30ish pace for the last 3 miles (finishing under 1:55)! That's obviously a 'goal race time/paces', so I'm open to whatever and would just really like to enjoy the race. 

This morning, I had my Track Tuesday workout (5 x 1 km repeats @ 7:12 min/mi with 400m repeats) and did it on the treadmill since I really didn't feel like going to the Track again and having it being used. I think next week the track schedule should change (getting ready for school to start) and I'll be able to use it again!

8 miles total (1.65 mi warm-up & 2 mile cool-down). I felt pretty strong and while the last 1 k repeat was hard, I could definitely still do another one or two before really struggling (which I'm taking as a good sign).

I'm really focusing on fueling properly after my runs, so I had some of the Superhero Muffins I made from Run Fast Eat Slow cookbook and their Can't Beet Me Smoothie. YUM! Also, definitely needed some Iced Coffee to wash it down. I'm also a bit disappointed because our temperatures are already starting to feel cooler and Fall-ish which means I will need to switch back to hot coffee here shortly. 

I slept better last night (normally I don't sleep as well before my speedworkouts) and I really think it was because I didn't overthink my workout that I had on the schedule the next morning! I actually totally forgot what my paces were supposed to be when I was getting ready to leave the house this morning and had to go back and double check it!

I'm going to try to NOT overthink my workouts for the rest of this training cycle because really, what's the point? We overthink things, stress about them, lose sleep, adjust our eating habits (maybe), and all for what? We typically don't gain much from overstressing situations, expect negative habits. Having confidence in yourself and these situations can be difficult to gain (especially in the beginning of a new endeavor), but it helps you tackle situations SO much easier (even IF they don't go exactly as planned). While it's definitely still a work-in-progress for me to have confidence going into each training run or difficult personal/work situation, I notice a large difference when I am able to really 'own' it and believe in myself. 

I saw this quote on my Facebook Timehop the other day and was really moved by it again. Maybe if we are able to 'unplug' ourselves from our destructive habits and thoughts, we'll be able to see the other side of each situation and believe in ourselves? Before tearing yourself apart, unplug. think. reset. and plug yourself back in.