The count down to Sunday continues…
Can I hug you all? Thank you for your feedback on all my answers. Reading each of them helped me tremendously. If they didn’t give me an answer (which I think they all did), they really helped settle my nerves.
In my yoga practice, I have been told the story of Yogi Bhajan. He believed that every person is born with a predetermined number of breaths from birth to death. How you breath through out your life determines how long you live. How you are feeling also directly affects how you breath. Overly excited? Your breath becomes rapid. Nervous? Your breath becomes rapid. Anxious? Your breath becomes rapid. After a few nights of crazy running dreams (seriously crazy!), I realized I need to get control of my breath. Not because I think it will add years to my life, but because I believe it will add living to my life. I need to find a place to settle. My overly excited, some-what nervous, and incredibly anxious nervous system needs a break. My mind needs to settle.
I have one goal for this race:
I want to learn the distance. I want to understand what it means to run 26.2 miles.
Yes, I have predictions about what I think the clock will say when I cross the finish line. Truly it does not matter to me right now. The things that do matter to me right now are more about the quality of my run instead of an outcome on a clock. I want to run the course the way I know how to run. I want to run with my heart. I want to push myself. I want to find new space inside of me. I want to grow along the course. I want to laugh and cry. I want to feel. I want to think I can’t, prove to myself I can, and then I want to go even further.
I’m reigning in my crazy, excited, nervous, anxious self. I’m bringing my breath back to where it belongs. I’ve found my place of calm.
3 days and a wake-up. This journey is life changing.
Kristy Maute 
You have given me an insight to running I never knew before reading your blog.
It’s WAY more than just mere stamina. Your head is in a marvelous place and your ability to see your entire self, inside and out is remarkable. Once again…thank you for the joy of reading this blog. X’s V
I’m soooo excited for you and for tomorrow!!!! I know you probably remember the way it felt when you finished your first half marathon and how everything seemed to abruptly be over. The same thing will happen tomorrow, so remember to savor the last .2. Save those final steps for your own personal victory lap. My last piece of advice before you go out there is a quote I read in a running magazine. Run the first 20 miles with your head and the last 6.2 with your heart.
I know you are going to be strong and amazing tomorrow. I can’t wait to welcome you to the club!!!