Whenever I feel lost, I can find myself on a run

Per Marathon Training tradition, the Sunday before race day is a 10-mile run on my favorite route ever.  Recaps from 2012, 2011, 2010, and the "rats can swim up toilets run" from 2009.  Today was a fantastic day and a run was exactly what I needed to lift me up.

Prepare for the worst: I read this thing in Runner's World or somewhere, talking about race day strategy.  Basically it said the best runners to prepare mentally for worst case scenarios like heat or feeling crappy or whatever.  Today I practiced preparing for the worst by starting off way to freaking fast, even for a 10-miler.  I hadn't planned to run this as a run with walking intervals, but I decided it was the most realistic way to slow myself down, and also what was most likely to happen on race day.  I walked every .5 miles for the first 4 miles of the run.  Yes, I know this route well enough to know not only the mile marks but the half miles as well.

Stay Strong in the Middle.  Have fun, but don't go too fast yet!  Miles 5 and 6 were down, and then up the hills at Ft Snelling and I ran them with the one walk break I take at the top of that massive hill by the fort.  This part of the run, I always try to slow myself down and enjoy the scenery, and not think about that stinking hill either.  Mile 7 was coming back around to the falls and it involved a food stop and also a photo stop. The river is amazing right now.  The leaves are starting to turn, just a few.  The maples are really red, but there's lots of green as well.

Finish Hard.  It may be okay to listen to some music on Race Day.  I'm toying with the idea of music on race day. Miles 8, 9, and 10 I did finally put in some music.  I was impressed with myself that I could pick it up for those miles.  I stopped taking breaks and just enjoyed the run.

Now Taper for serious.  Since I am still doing my mile per day (gotta keep the streak alive) I was really serious about stopping after mile 10, no matter where I was.  It turns out I was about 1.5 miles from home.  I did my plank for the day (2:30 baby!), took lots of pictures, and did lots of stretching.  I saw the Women's Gopher Basketball team on this court, I think filming a commercial.  Talk about random.  On the way home I called Grandma, and also talked to Aunt Barb and Uncle Spaghetti.  Then I called Dad and we talked for a long time.