For their last blog post, Bridget and Heidi, friends and business partners in the Hell Yeah Projects, interview each other about their training and soon-to-be race experience at ZOOMA Cape Cod.

Bridget Sprague, 41; mother of three, entrepreneur and Director of Marketing for Revision Energy (and future 10K finisher) starts us off by interviewing Heidi Bellamente, 39; mother of two, entrepreneur and leadership coach & consultant (and future ½ marathon finisher).

Bridget: You’re days away from the big race, how do you feel? 

Heidi: I feel ready. I’m actually really glad the race is now because I’m not sure these old bones can keep running over ten miles. But honestly I actually do feel ready. I even got new shoes.

What kind of shoes did you get? I love new sneaks. 

My daughter Sophie picked them out. They’re bright orange Asics. Crazily enough she picked out the perfect pair for me.

One of Heidi’s last long runs!

It’s been a tough week with everything happening in the news. I’ve been feeling really down. How do you balance the craziness happening with feeling excited for this race? 

I feel like the training grounds me and gives me some consistency in my life. When I run my mind is either totally blank or I’m processes my life and feelings. I get to chat with my friend on my long runs about anything that is particularly tough so that’s been really helpful. Although, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there is some seriously heavy stuff happening in the world right now.

What are you doing to get ready in these last couple days? 

I’m trying to get rest and eat well which means not shoving handfuls of double stuffed Oreos in my face. Sometimes that’s really hard not to justify when you’ve just run eight miles. But honestly, following my training plan for the last week, I feel like I’ve done all the hard work so now I get to take it a little easy.

How did the training plan work for you now that training is almost over? 

I think it worked really well for me. It helped me track my mileage, helped me set weekly goals and definitely reminded me to cross train and strength train – two things I couldn’t have done without the training plan. I also know I didn’t do everything in the training plan – if I had, I probably would have won the race! Ha!

Taking it all in before race day.

Any last words on your race day strategy? 

I am going to enjoy myself. I can’t wait to run my best friend Sarah’s race for ZOOMA  Women’s Running and to try to run a 10.3 minute mile. It’s going to be an awesome day.

And now Heidi turns the tables and asks Bridget questions…

Heidi: You’ve come up against some hard stuff training for this race. Is it going to happen this time? 

Bridget: The answer sadly is no. It’s not going to happen for me this time. I’ve experienced too many injuries and will be the crazy lady on the side of the road cheering my heart out for you.

People get hurt and injured and that’s a part of training. How are you getting your mind around not completing the race? 

I’m bummed. Super bummed. But I’m going to enjoy my time away with my family and make the most out of the weekend.

What did you learn about yourself going through this process?  

I’ve learned that I can’t force myself to do something that isn’t right for my body. I’ve also learned that I LOVE spending time exercising with my family and look forward to bike rides on the weekends now more than ever. Exercising with people is WAY more fun than trying to stay motivated by myself all the time.

Aw, I’m excited to have a cheerleader but sad you’re not able to run it. Do you think you’ll try again? 

Let’s just say I’ve discovered issues with my feet that don’t jive well with running a 10K. But really have discovered a love for cycling. Maybe you’ll see me at bike races someday soon.

Does that mean that you’ll never run a 10K? 

I never say never to anything.

The ocean is always there, even when you are bummed.

Your purpose has changed for this weekend, what do you want to get out of it now? What’s your race day strategy? 

I’ll have my kids with me so my strategy is to get them excited about possibly racing in the future. Give them the opportunity to see all of theses amazing women who are strong and tough and worked hard to get to where they are. I want them to create awesome goals and know they can reach them with hard work and determination.

Thank you for being my cheerleader. 

Don’t thank me yet — I may try to embarrass you along the way.