Today Is Not That Day

Four half marathons in less than 2 years?

WHO AM I!?

 I'm not sure...but for starters I am:

Healthier.

Stronger.

Faster.

More confident.

I run when I'm stressed.

I run when I'm happy.

I run when I'm sad.

And most importantly, I run races to keep me motivated and on track with my fitness goals.

My hope is that one day...I'll be the ADORABLE old grandma power walking my 50th half marathon - or some crazy number!

But for now, I'm preparing for my fourth half marathon. I've never done the Geist Half Marathon. I've heard it's a beautiful, hilly and challenging course. So, I've got mixed emotions...but I do have a few expectations.

Both good and bad.

The Good

Run to live. Live to Run.
Perfect motto for my 4th half marathon.

• I've got an amazing running partner. Even if she runs ahead of me to complete her own personal goal, I'm confident she will remain by my side most of the race. Sabrina always knows what to say and do to motivate and keep me positive when my body is hurting and I want to give up.
  
• I'll have fabulous friends there to cheer me on! Having your own cheerleaders at any race makes a HUGE difference. I can't even explain how happy I get when I see one of my friends or Justin during a race...their presence and cheers always seem to home at the most perfect moments. And if Justin is smart, he will bring Bandit. Yes, that's a hint Jdog.
  
• My race shirt is pretty legit. I wanted to get something that wasn't tight + wouldn't ride up the entire race. I hate when I'm running and I waste most of my energy adjusting my shirt or pants.
  
• I can eat whatever the heck I want on Saturday and NOT feel bad about it. Seriously, this is a gigantic perk of doing a half marathon.

The Bad

• The weather won't be my friend on Saturday. It should be very hot. Hotter than any race I've ever completed. The medical director of the race emailed all the participants today - reminding us to listen to our bodies, drink plenty of water and slow our pace if needed.
  
• The hills. Oh the hills. I'm NOT looking forward to the hills, but I'm reminding myself that every hill I go up...means I am one step closer to a Kim Kardashian booty. Not that I like anything about her. Just her booty.
  
• My injured foot is going to hate me.Most of Saturday afternoon will be spent elevating and icing my foot and cuddling with Bandit. I'm sure of it.
  
• My lack of training will certainly get the best of me. My poor training is 50% injury-related and 50% spreading myself too thin aka not making the appropriate time to get in my long runs. And when searching for inspiration today, I found this picture and set it was my desktop background:

No excuses.

Overall, I'd be ECSTATIC to  complete the race in under 2:50 - that would give me a PR by about 7 minutes. BUT if I don't, I'm still so proud of myself for trying. With minimal training and an injury, I'm going to complete my fourth half marathon. I'm going to push my body to new limits (with the hilly course) and challenge my mind to remain strong when my body wants to fail me.

I'll be live tweeting through the race- so follow me on Twitter @AshleySieb all Saturday morning! It'll be the best way to share my experience with you in "real time" - the good, the bad and everything in between!

This is what I'll repeat in my head on Saturday morning.

Much love,
Ashley