The hay is in the baahn

I love that after almost 15 years of being coached by Bob Sevene he still likes to give me the “Hay is the Barn” speech…with the thick Boston accent! I am headed out to race a half marathon at Grandma’s this weekend in Duluth, so I am sure this speech will be coming soon. People often ask me if I get nervous before races, and as I told a girl before my last race…. “I only want to throw up before the big ones.” The most nervous I ever was for a race was the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2008. I was a favorite to make the team- at least in my eyes- so anything else would have been a failure. The entire race was probably more of a mental feat than a physical one, and luckily I came out on top that day.

Training has been going well, and as my Coach says, “It’s time to go out and bang some heads.” Funny that my half PR (1:11:55) is only a few seconds faster than my half en route to a full marathon. Considering that, I am fully expecting a PR this weekend. I have no idea who is racing, but frankly I am thinking of it as me against the clock- my favorite way to race. I don’t think Saturday morning will be an “I want to throw up” kind of morning, but more rather a “Let’s do this thing!” Good luck to everyone toeing the line this weekend.

Grandma’s Marathon and Half

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Blake Russell

Runner, Wife and Mom. Enjoying where the running world has taking me and looking forward to the journey.

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2 Responses

  1. Steve Marshall says:

    Good luck Blake. I’d like to see your time after. PR!

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