There is three weeks to go until my goal race arrives. It’s slightly unreal to think that it’s so close. It feels like I just decided to start my journey into longer endurance racing. The change has been more than I could have imagined and I’m so happy that I took the leap of faith and threw myself into something so different and so new to what I normally keep myself confined too.
Which mainly consist of school distance races of 3-4km much shorter than the 21.1km I am doing. Being an outside race it feels as though there is less pressure and more time to enjoy the moment and the lead up. Coming so close to race day now I am at the peak ends of my training with the next week to two weeks really amping it up to push myself to the best level possible before race day.
But I’m also entering the last three weeks of school perfectly matching the time until my race, making it a perfect way to end off my schooling time. The increase of load and intensity has now began to have a toll on my recovery both physically gaining a few niggles which I am constantly trying to work through and away, and mentally being fatigued and exhausted from the training I completed that morning and days prior.
Trying to finish off school will be a mental challenge for sure with the capacity I am working myself at, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Fuelling is going to be a key to make it to race day happy and healthy so locking in on the nutrition I take in is more than important as I’ve seen the negative effects of under-fuelling recently with results I don’t want to ever encounter again. As well as making sure I am staying social and keeping busy other than training to keep it new and exciting like spending time with my family.
I’m excited for race day and want to be able to give it my all and be proud of that finishing time I achieve, these next few weeks will be hard but hard is what I need to achieve hard things, looking forward to the growth to come!
As well as racing the event I have decided to fundraise and represent the prostate cancer foundation ‘pacing4prostate’ and have already raised $750 of my $500 goal and now $1000 goal which I am more than proud to have achieved, I’m going to keep pushing to that new goal but either way be proud to support a foundation so close to my family with my Dad just being 100% cleared from his prostate cancer just a couple weeks ago.
https://aucklandmarathon2024.grassrootz.com/prostate-cancer-foundation-nz/jess-bray
See you in three weeks Auckland!
– Jessica Bray