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Dad | Professor | Dept. Chair | Historian | Ultramarathoner

Does one ever "feel" ready for a marathon?

I am one week away from my taper. I run 20 on this coming Sunday (12/21) and then start the process of resting and recuperating for the race in January. I have these intermittent fits of panic and calm. one day I feel ready, the next I feel panicky. Is it possible for one to actually feel “ready” for a marathon? Or is are we subject to a series of days that alternate between confidence and self-doubt? And why am I nervous about running a distance I have run almost three times in the past? What is wrong with me? A good friend once described our relationship with running as “Love/HATE.” Is this true for the rest of you?

By the way I am now on twitter. For those of you desiring to see just how dull I am follow disneyrunner on twitter.

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7 responses to “Does one ever "feel" ready for a marathon?”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Alternating between confidence and doubt sounds right on target. This has been quite a journey for you and has been building up for a while now. So it’s perfectly normal to start to have doubts now that it’s getting closer. After all, it is the culmination of a year?? of training. Just remember to have faith in your training. Any time doubts start to creep up, just take a moment to think of a really good training day. If you can harness the good mental state that you felt before, during, and after a great training run, it works wonders on giving you a little boost when you need it. You’re going to do AWEWSOME!!! I can’t wait to hear about it. Maybe podcast during the race???? That’d be cool.Hope

    Reply
  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I meant awesome..I got typing happy and added an extra W…I hate when that happens.

    Reply
  3. Melanie Avatar
    Melanie

    i know it’s a shameless plug, but check out my post from Nov 5th.http://m0mmymel.blogspot.com/2008/11/think-like-bumblebee-train-like-horse.htmlhope it helps 😉

    Reply
  4. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    I think what you’re feeling is quite normal. You ARE most definitely ready. 100%! I, both times, have felt ready. For my first, it was just a matter of doing it. I knew I could; I finished the training, after all. For the second, it was more a matter of “Will I meet my time goal?” and I psyched myself out too much and had a much slower race than #1. So next time I am going into race day viewing it merely as a training run. All about the fun!And I think you should focus on the fun, also. Just do it! You’re going to be in paradise. And you’re READY!

    Reply
  5. ShirleyPerly Avatar
    ShirleyPerly

    For your first marathon, I think you’ve just got to trust the training. It’s pretty typical, though, to experience self-doubt during the taper as you are not actively training the same way and start second guessing yourself. Once you get going during the race, you’ll be fine!

    Reply
  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think you ever feel 100% prepared. I did WDW in 2007 and hit the wall hard, finishing in 5:20. I trained all year with payback on my mind and ran without stopping in 2008 in 4:39:04. I did St. Jude a couple of weeks ago, feeling the least prepared for any run in my life, and ran 4:26:27.Just enjoy it. The run/course/fans/music/characters are all phenomenal. And trust me, I have never tasted anything better than the beer I had at the biergarten in Germany at Epcot after 26.2 miles. Good luck.Dan Klein

    Reply
  7. nylisa Avatar
    nylisa

    It must be a universal thing to feel this way before the first marathon. I had the same thoughts. If you’ve done what you were supposed to do you’ll be ready. No matter what, it will be a personal best when you cross that finish line. See you there!

    Reply

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