Last weekend, as part of my first 20,000 days celebration, I ran my second half marathon. In spite of my September post on preparation, I did not prepare to the degree I had planned. So here’s what you do to make sure you have a good time, a good race, and no injury.

1. Set your expectations to match your level of training. If you are running a longer race, but haven’t come close in your long runs, be prepared to walk part of the way. You can run the whole thing with the right level of mental toughness, but your risk of injury increases if you exceed your training by too much.
2. Follow a practical pre-race ritual. This is different for everyone, based in part on your travel to the race location. Some nutrition to start your engine is a good idea, but most runners don’t want to have too much in their stomachs at the start of the race. Get to the race with enough time to register and pick up your number (unless there was pick-up available the day before). Check for the porta-pottys. If you need to use one, chances are they will be busy just before the race, so line up early.
3. Position yourself in a reasonable location at the start. Don’t put other runners in the position of having to run around you in the early running. And don’t put yourself so deep in the pack that you don’t have room to run.
4. The longer the race, the more careful you pace. Don’t start out at your best stride when the race is much longer than your usual run. If you routinely run 5k in 25 minutes, then by all means go out fast and back off a bit if you need to. But if you are an 11-minute miler running a 10k, don’t rush out at a 9 minute pace and expect you will keep it up.
5. Remember the words of my friend John: “To finish is to win”. You trained, you registered, you got to the start. Now get to the finish and don’t worry about your time.
6. Enjoy the rest of your day. If you ran a long race you may want to ice the legs a bit, even in an ice bath. This will reduce the recovery time.
7. Pick another race and set up a new training plan!

I know that I was not happy with my last finish time, but thrilled with the run itself and that I finished without injury. But I know what I need to do to improve and I’ll run my own 13.1 in May with a new goal. Assuming I train enough.

Enjoy your training as much as your racing, and, as always, let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

As we move into the remaining weeks of the year, we tend to participate in activities and work that only occur in the last six weeks. It would be easy to overlook the little things, but it would be a better idea to think about the potential hazards and take the right precautions.

1. Outside decorations. Many people hang lights or other decorations on the outside of their homes. Make sure you use the right type and length of ladder. Don’t overextend it, set it to the right angle, and remember three points of contact.
2. Outdoor electrical decorations. If you have decorations outside, you need to make sure you are using the right electrical wires and plugs. Protect electrical components from moisture and use only items that are approved for outdoors.
3. Indoor electrical decorations. The big things here include running extension cords and plugging too many things into one outlet. Many modern lights and decorations run with cool LED technology, but there are still lots of electrical decorations that run hot. You need to protect against burns and the potential for fire if a hot bulb is too near something flammable.
4. Cut trees. There are several approaches to keeping a cut tree hydrated while you keep it in your home. If you do have a tree and then travel, consider taking the tree out of your home before you leave.
5. Candles. One year we had a fired in our house. My parents had a wood cabinet in the family room, and the top was decorated with pine roping and pillar candles. The pine had dried out and caught fire as one of the candles burned low. The fire was put out before anything burned besides the cabinet. We only burn candles in glass jars now.
6. Traffic. Shopping, errands, airport runs to pick up family, all put you out in traffic more than usual. And frequently at times when traffic is crazier than normal. We don’t go out the day after Thanksgiving anymore. Nothing is happening that can’t wait, and no savings worth the additional hassle. People are stressed, and that’s when they make mistakes.
7. Food. Different kind of watch out here, but this is as important as any. Not only is it important that you manage your calorie intake, but you also need to be paying attention to food handling. Keep preparation surfaces clean, cook meats thoroughly, and use common sense with storage and re-use.

This is a great time of year for so many people, don’t let the energy of the season lead you to take shortcuts or make a mistake that could snowball into a problem.

Thanks, and let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists and the others linked there always give you something to think about, and may even make you smile!

Last week we had a family wedding – the oldest of our two boys and his best friend, the love of his life. Matt and Kellie had a great time in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the main event, and they had a fabulous honeymoon.

For the rest of us, it has been as hectic as my old theater days. I took time off from work to accommodate the many tasks and airport trips that were involved. We had many family members stay with us off and on and served several group meals. The last guest left Sunday, the young couple’s beagle, who stayed with us while they went to St. Lucia.

As life gets back to some level of normalcy, I was thinking about things that need re-focus, that I need to pay attention to again to be my best.

1. Every trip to the store does not have to be fast. I am no longer in a rush, and taking my time is one of the most important things I can do to assure my safety – and my sanity.
2. I need to re-focus at work. I have earned lots of vacation time, but I rarely take more than a week at a time. This time I was off for nearly two full weeks, so a lot went on while I was gone. I work with a small team, so others carried a lot of work and were more than happy to get me back in the loop. I tried to minimize the stories of the wedding (unless they asked of course).
3. Exercise. I am way off plan for the year, and certainly for the last 4 weeks. Time to refocus and be fully prepared for an injury-free half marathon in October.
4. Food. The last of the leftovers are gone. Baked Ziti. Sausage, peppers and onions. Cakes. Chips. Time to eat smart again. I’m not even stepping on a scale for at least two weeks.
5. Taking care of the mother-of-the-groom. This was our second wedding, our daughter was married 6 years ago. I remember that following all the activity the lull was also sort of sad. What will we do now? Fortunately, I’ve got some ideas in mind.
6. My dog looks lonely. Not sure what to do about that.

Big life events are fun and exciting. But I think I’m looking forward to a period of normalcy.

Let’s be careful out there.

Anna at abdpbt is responsible for the effort to Fight Listless Mondays. Find other list links on her blog. Her lists are more clever. Lots.

With weddings comes travel and many celebrations. This week alone has had trips to the airport, gatherings for meals with relatives and members of the bridal party, and general errand running.

It’s sometimes hard to remember that each day is an average day for everyone else, and that the importance of what you are doing to prepare for a celebration is something others are generally not aware of. I could get frustrated by the lack of cooperation in traffic, or I could just take it easy and realize that worry and anger will not get me to my destination faster. And certainly not safer.

As we approach these last few days, I have reminded the young people involved to take extra precautions. Use designated drivers. Don’t get so caught up in the fun of the moment that you forget to stay grounded.

I’m excited about the next few days. I have family in town, as does my wife. We are thrilled that our son has found a soulmate. But each day, without being a bore to others, I will take the time to look at what’s happening and identify anything that we could be doing to assure just a little more safety for all concerned.

How about you? Do you take personal safety in daily activities for granted? Can you make anything you do just a little bit safer?

Let’s be careful out there.