It’s Friday, so I am linking up with Courtney at Eat, Pray, Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed Up for What and Mar at Mar on the Run for their weekly linkup. Each week they pick a theme and bloggers join in and link up. This year instead of specific themes, they are letting us be creative with broad themes for each week of the month. This is the second “Food or Drink” themed week BUT I’m going rogue today.
Since I am running a potentially very warm (well HOT) Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, I am going to go off theme with “5 Mantras for a Hot Marathon.” Why? This is basically all that my frozen in Chicago friends and I can think about this week. It is so cold here, I can’t imagine what hot will feel like, but I know it is coming.
1. This one if from my high school track coach, “It’s hot for everyone, kid!” Remember, these are the conditions for everyone. Many people will be out there longer than me. The good news about the forecast is that it is reasonably mild until about 3 hours in. So the more consistently I can run the first three hours, the better. And then, I can just look around and realize that it is hot for everyone. Right!?
2. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Well, just keep running, but Dory was right! Right?
3. “Right foot, left foot, repeat.” This was the sage advice of my former boyfriend when I ran my first marathon in 1996. He was not wrong. In fact, when I get desperate in tough conditions, I think of this and smile. I also use Boston Bound buddy, Kevin’s, trick of counting to 100 on each leg. This works to get your mind off of the pain/heat/whatever the issue is. Try it – it works!
4. “Smile.” Well, science tells us you feel better when you smile. Really! And, I did actually pay for this, so I may as well grin and bear it, right!?
5. “I am lucky to be out here and grateful for every mile.” In late December, I could not run one pain free mile. Two months later, I am towing the line for a full marathon. I truly am grateful and in awe of my body’s amazing ability to heal so quickly. It may not be fast, and it may not be pretty, but it will be another marathon finish.
Do you have any mantras or hot weather running tips that I should keep in mind? Please leave them in the comments!
Have a great weekend all and wish us luck!
PS. Don’t miss our crazy popular Wednesday Giveaway Round Up this week – 54 giveaways and counting!