Pre-race rituals

Well, it was our last run before the big day...10K baby here we come! Predawn (best time to run) Runnerbud Jen and I hit the roads for a short 5K; that of course went a little longer, but what the heck?

Now some say I research and read too much, which isn't always a good thing. You know what they say about too much knowledge... But I like to be prepared ~ for the good and the bad. So training plans have been looked at ten times, remodeled to fit our schedules and looked at again. The "experts" from Runner's World suggested 2 days rest before a 10k...obviously that didn't happen. But if you are a runner or obsessed with some other form of working out you know that rest days aren't all they are cracked up to be.

So let's talk about rituals. Now I'm not to the extreme of knock three times before entering a locked door, but I do believe it "signs" if you will. There are certain things I take as a sign from above or a good luck signal of good things to happen. Whether or not you believe in angels I always feel that I have a certain few who are looking down upon me as my guardians.
I also think that if something works one time, keep it up the next and the next and the next...

Power Polish
This is my newest ritual. A new polish color (toes and fingers) must be worn for all races. This weekend I will be sporting Grape Going! I'm pronouncing it with the -oy sound, not like go-ing, but that too has a ring to it for a runner. Anyway, if you see me today I am trying it out on my toes. My ritual is that it needs to be applied the night before.
SO, Saturday night I'll be polishing up the nails - and most likely urging Runnerbud Jen to do the same. (She wore Power Polish Green with me at the Shamrock race!)
Will it make me faster? Keep me from hitting the dreaded wall? Win (Ha ...yea there's a pipe dream...)
PROBABLY NOT! And I'm okay with that.
Does it make me feel better to look down at mile 5 and see my flashy purple nails? Yup it does.

Like I said before, it's a mental thing...and if my power polish helps me get across that finish line ~ then so be it!

Good luck to all racers this weekend!

If you run, you are a runner!
~Rachel

P.S. Do you have any rituals? Crazy or not? Post and let me know!

Pretty snazzy, isn't it?