Valium, please? - the 'Why am I freaking out over this marathon?' post

This Sunday. Another marathon - that's the plan. With a 65K planned on November 27th (oh boy, I really really hope that one works out! :) Fun! :)), I planned on making a training run out of this marathon. Go with the flow. Taking it easy. Enjoying the run.

That is...until the Twitter gang (they mean the world to me) started to predict finishing times. Based on the recent half marathon I ran in Koeln, Germany (2 weeks ago). On a hot day...a really hot day. Blah! Finishing times that are way out of my league. And that's when I started to freak out.

'Training run' turned into 'Boy, they'll think I suck when I don't finish in a kick ass fast time'. Freak out in...3, 2, 1. But, let's face it...I had a great new marathon PR at the Edinburgh Marathon last May. I finished my first 50-miler and had a blast. New 10 mile PR last September and new Half Marathon PR this month. I've had some great races this year. So, why jinx it? Exactly... After the Swiss Alpine Ultra on July 31th, I just kept base mileage up, but didn't really pay attention to speedwork. I just ran. Wanted to enjoy those runs. And I did. That 65K is what I'm focussing on.

So, - despite of the 'freak out' part - I'll go into this marathon as a training run. A fun run. A 'here goes nothing' run. :)

And I'm fine with that. :)

The First Few Miles

I'm not a huge fan of the first few miles of a run.

Well, let me rephrase that. I'm not a fan at all of the first few miles of a run. To be more precise: I'm struggling through the first 3 miles / 5K of my runs. Yep, all of them.

There is this Dutch saying stating that the last part of everything (for example: a project at work, a marathon, a work out) is the hardest part. This does not apply to me. At all. I'm the girl you will definitely not catch smiling during the first 5K of a marathon. Then again, I'm the girl that's smiling like a mad girl in the last couple of miles. Nutso, I know. Maybe that's also why I usually try to avoid 5K races.

Don't get me wrong. When I head out for a run, I'm looking forward to it, only to find myself feeling blah for the first three miles. After that, I'm smiling. Yep, smiling. Even on a hilly (okay, monster hills) 20-miler. And enjoying the scenery. Especially in these gorgeous Swiss Alps. Every run feels like a precious gift out here (okay, cheesy, I know. Get over it.).

When finishing the Swiss Alpine Marathon K42 last July, I was smiling and jumping around like nobody's business. Best finish line photos ever. Hard to believe that I looked like I was ready to throw myself of a cliff at the 5K mark. Same thing happened at the New York City Marathon. Even with a calf strain. There's seriously something wrong with me.

I'm having a hard time believing that they will ever find a cure for my 'first miles' blues. They probably won't. Those first three miles/5K are just something I've learned to deal with. The thought of feeling amazing after that first hump, get's me through.

I guess I'm build for the long run. Or so I hope. ;)

Anyone out there battling this same problem?

Confessions of a single runner

OK, this one is going to be brutally honest. But there's just no other way to put it. By the way, this is not a personal ad. Just to get that clear.

My household consists of my dog Lordie, my two cats and Me, Myself and I. That's it. No guy. Not even a friend with benefits. And the four of us couldn't be happier.

Ofcourse, it wasn't always just me and the fur balls. There was a guy. Heck, there were several guys, but at the moment there is none. Nada.

The last guy couldn't cope with the fact that I run a minumum of 35-38 miles a week. Work and running take up most of my time. Ofcourse I spend time with my friends, I'm not a complete weirdo. But you get the point. He figured that there wasn't enough time left to hang out with him. I had a choice: it was either him or running. So, he had to go. No-brainer.

With the guy gone, I all of a sudden had more time to run / work out, so I added strength training and extra miles (well, marathon training does that...I needed to run extra miles). Since I am really getting serious about this marathon thing, I don't go out clubbing / pubbing as often as I used to. And, that's why nowadays most of the men I meet are fellow runners. 'Perfect combo', wouldn't you think? Nope...not really.

For starters, 1. I'm not one of those flirty runners that's able to flirt her ass off while running 7 minute mile-intervals. 2. Running = sweating and I sweat a lot. A lot lot. Not very sexy, huh? 3. When I'm running, I'm running. It's my me-time. And I really don't feel like trying hard to get a guy to like me during that me-time.

Taken into account that I do fancy the athletic type (the chubby, not so athletic guys my friends meet in pubs, just don't do it for me), dating a fellow runner would be the way to go...But, considering 1, 2 and 3, that's probably not going to happen any time soon. ;)

And you know what, no matter what my friends and family say ('you're heading towards your thirties, shouldn't you marry and settle down' YUGH!), I don't mind being single! Honestly, I don't! I'm having a blast!

I'm very well aware of the fact that society feels that it's 'not normal' for a girl in her late twenties to be single. And that it's also a bit weird for this girl to be perfectly happy. And that it's definitely pretty strange that this girl has no intention at all to desperately start looking for a guy to marry at this very moment. Not to mention my aunts telling me that 'it will be my time soon' and 'such a pretty girl will not end up as an old spinster'.

I couldn't care less. Next year's calendar is filled with races. And training / work outs. And girl weekend's around these races. The thought of that full calendar alone makes me smile.

So, please, I ask you, do not feel sorry for me. Do not ask me whether or not my biological clock is trying to tell me something (I'm hitting snooze everytime that thing's bothering me). And most definitely don't try to hook me up with one of your boyfriend's pathetic friends.

I'm fine. I'm not a freak. I'm just a perfectly happy single runner.

Ran: 5.6 miles / 9 km - 51 min - easy run