Barcelona Diary #29 — Change of Plan

So this is it. Just a week away until the big day I started to struggle.

If there’s something I can’t deny about this year’s training, it’s that it has been an actual and living prove that things never go as planned; paraphrasing the legendary Paula Radcliffe “there are a lot of things that can go wrong”. It definitely builds some character and makes you face (and accept) the events as they come.

Far from ideal, but what else can I do? Just deal with the fact and hope it doesn’t get any worse.

My focus at this point had totally shifted from getting a PB to just been able to make it to the start and cross the finish line, that’s it, simple. There will always be another race.

What if I can’t?

My flights are booked and I already invested a lot in this, both personally and emotionally, so of course I’m still going, even if something went very wrong last minute putting me away from the race. I mean, if you don’t run, you must cheer, right?

And just in case, this option is not even on the table, giving up is never an option, but I’ve been both cautious and realistic, and I’ve already been almost there. At the peak of my pain and discomfort during last Sunday’s run, the well know “what if” question crossed my mind a couple of times, I have to admit.

What I’m going to be doing?

A lot of foam rolling, massaging, stretching and running as little as I can.

Hey, there’s always a positive side to (almost) every story, and that’s how I’m taking this. What ever is the outcome of this race, it’s been an incredible journey so far, from training with the loveliest people, to a lot of trial and error, and many lessons learned. So I’ll take it all, put into practice for the next marathon, and make it the race I want it to be.

In the mean, the clock is already ticking and the countdown for us going away just started. Only 7 days to go! Excited? HELL YEAH!

Barcelona baby, here we come!