Posts tagged ‘race’
Preparing for Race Day
Last call!
If you know what that means, then you know what I mean. If you’ve never actually experienced last call, let me school you here. Last call is that point in the evening when the bartender gives you fair warning to drink up, pay up and get out. You have officially run out of time to order another round or get a little something to eat.
Two to three weeks out from race day, you can consider that last call has been made. You have been working out your training plan. You (hopefully) have been eating a little better, found some comfortable gear, and are getting excited about the big day.
You may be getting so excited that you start thinking, “Dang, I deserve a whole new outfit just for race day!” Or you may start obsessing over the perfect pre-race breakfast, which you have determined may or may not not be your usual bowl of Cheerios.
Careful, sister. Now is NOT the time to make any changes – it’s too late. The bartender says, “If you don’t work here or sleep with someone who works here, you’re done.” That’s after-hours speak for: if you’re not an experienced runner that has tested that breakfast bar, sports drink or brand of socks in training, it will have to wait.
Stick to the plan. Stick to what you know, because on race day there will be enough new, different and anxiety provoking. You don’t need to pile on with a breakfast that might wreak havoc on your digestive system or new clothes that chafe in places you’ve never chafed before. You want to free yourself from every variable and worry that could distract you from giving your best effort. You’ve worked too hard and come too far to get derailed by something foolish now.
I met a woman at the start line of the Zooma Austin Half Marathon, who somehow managed to forget to pack her running bra. Now you know how passionate I am about the right bra, so you can imagine my dismay as she tells me she stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a new one. Not only was it a low-rent bra, but a new bra on race day.
Red alert, people!
When I saw her at the finish line, she was the embodiment of misery – her performance sadly hindered by painfully distracting chafing and blisters. Do not repeat her race experience.
You can’t control the weather, the crowds or your monthly cycle, but you can be reasonably sure that you know what feels good in your stomach and what feels good on your body when you run. That, and a little race day adrenaline, will give you freedom to fly.
Then you can think about treating yourself to something new – something pretty, pampering or decadent. You deserve it.
Have you got boobs? Then you’ve got a dog in this fight.
We had an awesome Survivor Saturday this past weekend at the Womens 4 Miler Training Program. Two breast cancer survivors spoke of their personal battles with this disease. There was Patty, a young woman who truly didn’t fit any high risk profile. Even her doctors were skeptical that the lump she found could be anything but benign. Then there was Louise, a woman with a compelling family history of cancer who regrettably let her annual mammogram appointment lapse. She gave us all fair warning not to do the same. Their stories serve as powerful lessons of both warning and hope, and we are blessed by their generosity and celebrate their happy outcomes.
Let me lay a few facts on you:
- One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
- Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
- Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
I had never given a lot of thought to breast cancer. I had no family history, except for my great grandmother who was diagnosed in her mid 90s. I mean at that age, it’s gotta be something, right? But here’s one that really blew me away:
- Women who have a first-degree relative (mother, daughter, sister) have a risk of breast cancer 2 to 4 times greater than average. [BUT...]
- Genetically inherited forms of breast cancer only comprise about 5 to ten percent of breast cancers cases overall.
Whoa! So having a family history of breast cancer may put you in a higher risk category, but not having a family history of breast cancer really doesn’t afford me any “GET OUT OF CANCER FREE” passes? Maybe I should be taking this whole deal a little more seriously.
I didn’t believe I had too many risk factors aside from poor diet, smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity and having my first baby as an “old” lady (30!). During the course of my own personal wellness journey, I got involved with the Women’s 4 Miler which revolves around education and fundraising for the UVA Breast Care Center. I started running because I wanted to lose weight; I trained with the W4MTP because it was a kind, safe, and proven training program for women like me.
All that breast cancer stuff was incidental to me, but I started hearing some of these startling statistics, and more importantly, I came to know and love too many women who were in the fight of their lives, or who were survivors, or who had lost a loved one to this disease. For me, it has gone beyond statistically scary to downright heartbreaking.
I know now, that even though I may be doing all the right things, I am not immune to the vagaries of cancer. So for myself and for every friend, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, and grandmother out there, I have committed to run for prevention education, better detection, better treatments, and a cure.
So if you have breasts, you have something at stake. Take care of yourself, get your mammograms, and do your monthly breast self exam. If you know and love someone with breasts, this issue is yours as well.
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