2 Doubles
2 workouts
13.1 Mile long run
2 lifting sessions
1 Surprise Party
With a lot of hype and nervous energy, I've completed my last full week of taper before the Trials. It's hard to believe that in just six days all the hard work and dedication will come to fruition as soon as I cross the finish line on Saturday. This week's mileage was quite similar to the week before, but I felt like less time was committed, oddly enough. I got back into the full swing of work in a cubicle with ease, but struggled to get back on my normal sleep schedule after our return from California. Fortunately enough, the weather in Charlotte has been uncharacteristically warm, making it easy to get out of the door every day. I even found time to do some ancillary stuff with Garrett at the gym because I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.
While my workouts went exactly as planned, my social life didn't - and I mean this in a good way. Kelly and Meghan Fillnow teamed up with all the other runner ladies in Charlotte to host a suprise party for Megan Hovis and I (and Meagan Nedlo in spirit). While I tried to make plans for Garrett and I to go out with my co-worker, he was trying to tell me that we had a double date planned with John and Kelly. I knew we didn't, so I called Kelly who said that she had a friend in town but that she really wanted to give me a birthday present tonight. John confirmed that she wanted to me to come over at 730 to pick up my birthday present, so I agreed.
When I walked into the house, Meghan and Kelly were acting really awkward (Kelly literally just turned around and walked away from me because I'm pretty sure she was trying to tell everyone to jump out) and then Dalena, Michelle, Danielle, Anna, Carolyn, Jocelyn, Pezz, Emily, Mo, and Alice all jumped out from the kitchen with a huge SURPRISE! In addition to having all of my favorite ladies in one place at one time, the Fillnows had baked lots of yummy breads and even bought vegan cake pops! This gesture of kindness was the best way to really start getting excited about the Trials. I enjoyed chatting with all the girls, talking about upcoming races, and hearing about everyone's goals for 2012. No matter what happens at the Trials in just six days, I know that these women will be proud of the Charlotte trio for just making it to the start line. I am so grateful to have such supportive and phenomenal friends. It would have only been better if we could have flown Meagan Nedlo out to share in the excitement!
Now that this week has winded down, there are only two more days left for me to spend in Charlotte before I head to Houston on Wednesday morning, where a flurry of activity begins! Activities include reuniting with friends that I've met throughout the journey, picking up my race packet, signing Meagan, Megan and me up for pre-race massages, elite technical meetings, and grabbing as much free food from the Elite Hospitality Suite as possible. I've listed my athlete support person to be Garrett, who will join Jordan and Ben to create an entourage of support for the Charlotte ladies. I'm depending on Rebecca Thomason and Matt Jaskot to make the Saturday post-race festitivities as memorable as they come (which could very mean that I don't actually remember the epic night).
Since running Twin Cities in October 2010, I have been counting down for this Saturday's race, quite possibly the biggest race of my career. As I've stated before, the key is to soak up the entire experience, and run with everything I have in the tank on that day. The best part is that I am going into the Trials knowing that I've done everything I could have (given that I have a full time job) to prepare for this race.
Spotlights
Unlike Meagan, I don't have a PR Assistant named Jordan Kinley, so I've got to give my out shout outs...
Thanks so Theoden for posting an article in the Charlotte Obvserver.
Thanks to Brandan Laan of RunnersFeed for interviewing quite possibly ALL of the Olympic Trials Qualifiers. You can read my interview here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment