Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Marathon Dreams

With 39 days to go until the Quad Cities Marathon, I have already started dreaming about the race. That usually doesn't happen until much later, so I don't quite know what all of this is going to mean for me. Am I more nervous? Is it a good sign? I know that my feelings about this one are different from last time. Instead of thinking, "Wow, can I really run 26.2 miles?" I am thinking, "How strong of a PR can I get?"

Last night, I dreamed that it was the day before the race. I was going around trying to find as many sources of carbs as I possibly could. Pancakes, bread, pasta - mmm! I was also making an effort to drink water and Gatorade all day.

A few weeks ago, I had one that was even better. My brother and I both ran the marathon (which might actually happen and would be awesome). I used a strategy that I've been considering - wearing my Garmin, but not looking at my pace. When I ran the trisko in the spring, I couldn't get coverage for the first half of the race, probably because of the ridiculous storm. As a result, I just ran at a pace that was comfortably challenging, which I think maybe made me run faster than I would have. Anyway, that's what I did in my dream. Andy finished in 3:00, and I finished in 3:03.

Obviously, that's not going to happen. But it was a lovely dream.

In the dream, my first thought upon seeing the clock was just WOW. But that was immediately followed by, "I am going to have to start saving my money for a trip to Boston." Because if I ever qualify for Boston (like a certain other Betsy I could mention), baby, I'm going.

5 comments:

Marcy said...

3:03? Why the heck not? ;-)

tfh said...

I read somewhere-- an old Runners World?-- that dreaming about running and racing actually improves your running. The article tried to teach "lucid dreaming" so people could interject running into their dreams. Very cool that it's just coming to you. Consider it part of your training!

ritu bajpai said...

I am sure you would make it to Boston, keep going.

P.O.M. said...

I usually don't dream about running or sports. But I dream about FOOD. And family/friend drama. I would rather dream of running.

Unknown said...

I fortunately only had one marathon dream before last Sunday's race. In it I woke up from a nap to realize it was time to get ready for the race (couldn't understand why I hadn't set my alarm). Nothing was set out, so I started frantically searching for all my clothes. The shower was weird -- basically just a hand-held shower head with no tub -- and I was back at our house in Connecticut (which I haven't lived in for 28 years). I then couldn't find my hair conditioner, which really ticked me off (why I wanted conditioner before running a race, I'll never know). Didn't have time to eat breakfast, but figured I could down a banana on the ride out.

As for getting to Boston, I highly recommend Pfitz!