countdown....9

Athletes,

Tomorrow morning when you rise you will have only 9 days until the marathon day. Keep working on the list of positive things happening in your lives due to this journey we are on. The thought that I want to share with you today has to do with anxieties. There is no way that I am going to tell you that you will not have a lot of anxieties, depending upon when you leave for Chicago, Friday or Saturday and of course Sunday morning. But there are things that you can do to prepare in advance to lessen them. Anxieties are ok, they get your motor running before a big event and they get your adrenaline pumping and your body ready for the start of a race. But too much anxiety or for too long of a time can be physically draining. I try to keep my cross country girls relaxed as I can until right before they go to the line to avoid tense muscles burning energy. Often anxieties can be reduced by just being prepared, organized and planning ahead. So my suggestion is to start reading through all of the email, looking on line, getting maps, gather all the information and begin to plan your itinerary so to speak. Be thinking about what time you want to get to packet pickup, communicate with someone you have been training with to meet you there, plan on spending quite a bit of time at the expo. There are a lot of things to see and do. Then Hotel check in, what time can that happen, assuming you are traveling on Saturday, otherwise those will be reversed. My point is that the more you can be prepared the more relaxed you will be the day or two before the event. This also follows with race morning. I usually plan from what time I need to be at the start line and back up to the time I need to get out of bed. I lay out what I am going to wear and take with me the morning of the race the night before, less to stress about. Some people don't stress, I envy you! Maybe it is because I am not typically organized that I try so hard to expect the unexpected. Not sleeping well the night before a marathon is typical, so try your best to get a good night of rest two nights before. And most importantly keep your eyes upon our Savior, He and only He can give you a sense of calmness and reassurance that He will be with you at all times. If we surrender our lives, only then can we really begin to live. Next week early we will focus on a packing list, then late in the week the best way to get hydrated without having to stand in line at the port-a-potties all the time.
Blessings,Coach Don