running goals.

with exactly one month to go before seattle, I think it's time to lay down some goals/rules.

1. I will not bonk.  my goal time for the cox half marathon on may 2 was 1:50, and instead I finished at 2:08, because of bad fueling and hydration practices.  serious runners and sports nutritionists apparently call this "bonking," which sounds dirty and amuses me, but it generally refers not just to a cramp or nausea but a total system shutdown.  somewhere between miles 10 and 11 of the half, I started seeing stars, and had to shut it down right before mile 12 and walk for a few minutes because the world had gone dark.  my muscles were still going strong, but lack of fuel had caused my brain to turn off the lights.  I've made significant changes to my fueling and hydration routines since then, and am liking the results.  as recently as sunday's 16-miler I had to pop into a gas station at mile 12 to buy water, just to dump over my head, and gatorade, so I could push through the last 4 miles.  humidity = tons of sweat = hydrate to replace, or die.  
2. I will not run too fast just because I feel great and everyone else is running fast.  this is my first marathon, it's a super hilly course, and I am going to respect my novice status.  this means sticking to my goal pace of 8:50-9:00.  especially for the first 10k - specifically so that I will survive the final 10k.
3. I will dominate the hills.  I train on college hill.  I can single-leg press my full body weight.  I crush hill repeats every tuesday morning, and easily log over an hour of total uphill time every week.  seattle hills, you're officially on notice: I will eat you for breakfast on june 26.
4. I will smile at the official race cameras, and I will stop to take pictures with my friends.  
• I have never met an official race photo of myself that I loved or even liked, so I am going to strike a pose in seattle.  and my race partner, emily, is a fist-pumper, so there will undoubtably be many of us fist-pumping our way along the course.  
• my AMAZING college girlfriends, marissa and miriam, are coming all the way to seattle from la and arizona to see me race!  what babes.  we were in a sorority together, and I have a strong suspicion based on prior experience that they will be rowdy, enthusiastic, mildly embarrassing supa-fans.  who I will stop and take pictures with.  we're making memories, here, people.
5. I will HAVE FUN and remember every step of the way that I am racing for me.  eight years ago I was in a back brace; two years ago I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs.  I have spent hours and days and years of my life in doctor's offices, in MRI tubes, in physical therapy, and on muscle relaxers and pain killers.  today I am pain-free.  I know how to manage my old injuries - and prevent them from returning!  I am constantly in awe of my ability to power through my long runs and addicted to the adrenaline rush I feel afterwards.  and that, masochistic as it sounds, is fun.  

thunder thighs of steel carrying hallucinating, bonked-out me to the cox finish line.