race day preparation – and getting out the tissues

Carbo loading, dutch courage, or confidence booster?

Good morning.  So Race day tomorrow.

Been a rather interesting few days.  Diet adjustments, exercise adjustments, injury worries, and severe wet weather  for just a few.  Oh and the realisation that I only started training for this marathon a month ago…And when casually chatting with other seasoned runners, their eyes bulge at the “only a month ago” statement – can I cry for Mommy now?

So strangely enough my emotions have been all over the place, from happy and content, feeling secure and just okay, to nervous shaking hands, to sweaty feet (nooo), to being over attuned to every slight tweak ache or other in my body, to crying, hurt and tears and drama, to frustration.  I read up that the change in carbo loading can lead to these swings on top of all the other worries.  So I did what any sensible woman does – I had chocolate.  With carb and sugar loading aka chocolate eclair, long black and a good book.  The interesting added challenge I have with ensuring I have enough energy is my food intake.  So basically I do not eat fresh dairy products, egg products, not a fan of pasta, and have rice on occasion (ie less than once a month). Do not eat tomatoes or mushrooms.  So force feeding myself this carbo load is the most difficult challenge so far.  And been teaching myself to drink an energy drink – not normally a soda drinking or energy drinking kind of individual.  Sniff sniff, pass the tissues….

Feet Preparation

Well it has been wet and rainy.  Again.  So feet have not had a chance to harden up in the last couple of days, being wrapped up in shoes or running in the wet…these are not idyllic conditions.

day before race day, holes in my feet appear to have closed over enough

Having had various bits of mother nature forcefully removed from my barefoot, I have had to have a chat with them to ensure the holes close over quickly.  Once the debris is removed it is no longer painful, but if you have any kind of cavity in your foot, when running dirt and bits get trapped in and build up, and that then causes pain.

Day before tape up to allow the plaster to settle and seal

I am taping my feet, which needs to be done today to ensure that the tape takes and sets on my feet.  Once the glue settles in and the tape really connects with the skin, you need to walk around and warm the tape to mould to your skin features. This is to ensure that on the day Plaster sticks to the feet and you do not get annoying bits of feeling something is stuck to your foot..

Okay, so this very inspirational video was shared on FB, and I am adding the link here!