Secret Weapons

I recently read Kathrine Switzer's autobiography, and in the first few chapters she talks about her first introductions to running. She wanted to make it onto one of her school's sports teams, and her dad suggested she start running a little bit each day over the summer so she'd be stronger and fitter by the time try-outs happened. As she felt herself indeed growing stronger, she thought of these runs as her "secret weapon" - the thing that would give her an edge over the other girls because no one else was doing it.

As I pushed through the last few sets of my track work on Tuesday this week, I started thinking about Kathrine and her secret weapon, and I realized that it wasn't just the running that helped her, but also the confidence that running gave her.

Everyone will tell you that running a marathon is more mental than it is physical, and while there's nothing secret about pushing it on the track to see results on the course, I think there's something to the confidence it gives me. I know I can push through the discomfort and fatigue of running in 200 meter circles at near top speed for an hour. What's to stop me from running in a straight line for 26.2 miles at marathon pace with throngs of cheering people at every step? The confidence of knowing what I'm made of will carry me from Hopkinton to Boston on race day.

Another "secret weapon" I haven't blogged about yet is my new shorts. After a few years of running in your typical nylon Nike track shorts, I decided to invest in a pair of those tight spandex booty shorts you see the elite athletes wear (not the SUPER short ones they call "buns" but the longer ones). The decision was two-part: 1. I'm sick of risking a peep show every time I stretch 2. It can't hurt to channel my inner Kara Goucher on race day.

I tested them out on the track this week to see how they feel/fit in motion, and I would like to think they played a small part in my stellar results that night. While in reality I was your average Jane on an indoor track running 7-minute miles, mentally I was on the final stretch down Boylston St. among the elites, vying to break the tape (and my butt looked better than any of theirs). If it's warm enough, I will most certainly wear them on race day and take that confidence with me as well.

So will track work + booty shorts = BQ on April 19? Only one way to find out! 17 days to go.