Relaxing before marathon

I'm doing Amsterdam marathon on Sunday and am feeling incredibly anxious about it despite it being my 6th marathon. I am anxious that I have not done enough training as I missed most of August with injury (still managed 2 twenty milers in September and was running 50 miles per week prior to the injury), I have had two phantom injuries during the taper meaning I have probably rested more than is ideal, have developed a nasty blister under my little toe which I am worried will cause problems, finally I have to catch a very early flight on the day before the race so am worried I will not sleep enough before the race and be too tired on the Sunday! I have seriously considered dropping out a couple of times and was looking for some advice/ reassurance on how to manage these last few days? Think I'm feeling particularly bad this time as a felt in line for a pb a few weeks back and am worried I have thrown the opportunity away also don't want to waste all that time and money travelling to Amsterdam to not race well.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Comments

  • This is classic maranoia. Your September long runs seen adequate for the task. Tape up the blister and enjoy the run.

  • Take it easy when you get there on Saturday. Time permitting, I always like to do an open-top bus tour of the city. That way you get to see the sights but you're also sat on your arse not wasting energy.
  • Eggyh73Eggyh73 ✭✭✭
    I'd suggest forgetting about any time goals you may have put on yourself. Don't clock watch, just go out and run at what feels like a comfortable pace and enjoy running in a new location.
    I've had a couple of races impacted by injuries when training. Once at Berlin I attempted to keep my time objective and ended up blowing up spectacularly in the latter stages of the race and led to me thinking of quitting marathon running. Another time at Paris where I didn't look at my watch once and just ran how I felt where I ended up only two minutes slower than my PB time and had a great race and experience.
    There's little you can do now, so just make sure you're eating and drinking well and try and rest and relax as much as you can.
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