Pre-race jitters starting early

It’s happening.
The paranoia that often sets in a few weeks before any of my marathons, is starting early this year.
Sometimes, it strikes me two weeks out, other times three weeks out, mostly it’s just the last week or so, that I start thinking that every time I walk there’s a pain in my foot, or an ache in my back.
Many of these symptoms are psychosomatic. I’ve grown to realize this as have those around me, who know it’s just me talking out loud wondering if that little pinch in my calve really means anything.
It starts to creep up on you. All those Sundays when everyone is having a nice quiet breakfast as the wind howls outside and you put on running shoes regardless of the weather because you have to get in your training.
You see it in the faces of the drivers who go past you on those January mornings when only those walking their beloved pets are out there.
It’s the feeling of having trudged through winter unhindered, training like there was no tomorrow and the simple realization that all the work was coming down to a few hours a few days from now.
I’m forever in fear of hot weather.
Whenever someone says, “What a beautiful day out here,” I’m always the one who says, “I wish it was a touch cooler.”
Perhaps this comes partially from being traumatized at the 2007 Chicago Marathon where it was canceled due to heat or maybe it’s because my body doesn’t react well to the heat.
So, this morning, I thought I would check the weather forecast in Cincinnati and I almost had a heart attack.
By the end of the week, the high is going to be around 21 degrees.
Checking the weather is the worst thing I could have done.
I promptly went to the website to see photographs from last year to check out what people were wearing.
Of course, it was shorts and tank tops.
Shorts and tank tops are my greatest fear.
That means hot weather.
So I’m trying to make myself feel better by thinking about the nice early 6:30 a.m. start that should give me at least a couple of hours of cool time before the heat starts up.
I’m just plain ignoring the heat illness survey on the race website.
So I guess it’s safe to say the race paranoia has set in roughly about 19 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes and one second before race day.

Comments

[Jessica Young]

You are the ultimate weather checker :D