The night before any race, big or small, I always dream one of the following happens to me:
- I sleep in
- I miss the race
- I forget my running shoes and have to run barefoot (I have yet to embrace the no shoes/Vibram five-fingers obsession)
- I physically can’t run, e.g., my legs won’t working
I usually wake up in some sort of cold-sweat-and-panic combination, and realize I have 5 more hours of sleep until my alarm goes off.
I’ve never missed a race.
I’ve never slept in.
I’ve never forgotten my running shoes.
And, 99.9% of the time my legs work.
But this week, the week of my marathon, I’ve been dreaming like crazy. I’m experiencing marathon-race-dream-overload. My only saving grace is that some of my dreams are pleasant and/or interesting (Really what I’m trying to say is: I’m not waking up in a cold-sweat-panic over every dream).
Don’t get me wrong, I still miss my race and oversleep in my dreams, but I’ve also dreamt the following:
- The race is run over a course of 2 days: 12 miles on Saturday, 14.2 miles on Sunday (awesome, I’ll take it)
- I win the race (obviously not going to happen – but still an awesome dream!)
- I experience no pain and the marathon is an absolute breeze (wishful thinking)
My pleasant dreams are much more awesome than my “normal” pre-race dreams – why can’t I win in every dream?! 😉
Now, I just have to run my race in real-life to find out what really happens…
Do you dream before a race? What are your dreams like?
Good luck and hope you get some restful sleep! During one triathlon my brother actually took off running without shoes because he was trying so hard to beat the guy in front of him he forgot. My mom came running after him with the shoes it was the fastest we've ever seen her run and hillarious!
I had a dream I ran a race without my shorts the night before. Luckily that never happened for me as well.
I always dream of running when my weekly mileage is high. Or, if I am not running at all due to injury.
I can't remember any race dreams, but I had some weird ones before my wedding. Isn't it amazing how our own brains torture us so?
I've been having crazy tri dreams. Which have not been anywhere near as pleasant as yours. Let's trade. LOL!
I love this post and those marathon dreams are AWESOME! maybe it's a sign telling you to relax and feel the joy that beholds you…you are going to do AWESOME!!!! Are you running Eugene? I think so but can't remember….
I have yet to have a race dream but do have the fear of oversleeping!
Good luck … I'm sure you'll do awesome!
Winks & Smiles,
Wifey
Yay for race week! No crazy dreams here but I still have figure skating dreams which is really weird cuz I don't skate anymore.
Good luck!
I love that you had good dreams.. I have had a few doosies.. I should send you mine from Boston via email, you will DIE it is too funny. GOOD LUCK!! You are going to rock it. I read daily but cant comment from work and am too tired to chime in when I get home. Thank you for your positive comments.. Cant wait to hear how you do!!
Kelly and I spent last evening visiting with Scott Jurek – lucky us! I was able to run and chat with him – so neat.
I wanted to stop by to wish you luck this weekend. I know you will have a SUPER race. Very exciting! Can't wait to here about. I will be running a half, so I will feel the pain with you. Good Luck!