Pre-Race Thoughts

Tomorrow's the big day. Not the wedding, but our marathon relay. Am I ready? Well, I've followed Hal Higdon's plan, so I should be pretty well prepared. I never got around to blogging this, but last week I was looking for and old post and found the one where I was all happy about running 6 miles. That actually made me laugh, because I wrote that about 6 weeks ago, and now running 6 miles is a warmup! Last Saturday I ran 12 miles in 1:46! No stopping! There's a 10k loop (it's actually 5.5 mi from where we park) on base, and I remember the first time Kate and I tried to run it. It took the better part of the morning, and we had to keep stopping to walk and rest. Saturday I ran it twice then did a little more because I wasn't tired yet. Remember, I have no natural athletic ability whatsoever- as long as you stick to a plan (and have a lot of spare time) you can do this.

So I guess my point is this: Am I nervous about the race? The answer is yes, but not for why you'd think. I really don't care where I finish. I just want to be able to say and know that I ran a half-marathon. The fact that I ran 12 miles last weekend has already given me any personal validation that I could've been looking for. The biggest reason I'm nervous is that there's like 2 bathroom stops on the trail. One at mile 1 (if you have to go at mile 1, then you didn't plan ahead), mile 6, and at the handoff spot. Now, in the 6 weeks I've been running distances of more than 6 miles, I've had to make a pit stop once. But I hear a lot of marathon/bathroom horror stories that make me think that tomorrow's the day. Other than that, it's just the fear of not finishing. What if tomorrow is the day I twist my knee, or sprain my ankle, or get distracted and run into a tree? I'm pretty sure none of those will happen. What I'm really looking forward to is after race buffet/cook out, where I'll get to chow down while Kate runs her portion. Then tomorrow night, it's the Cici's pizza all you can eat buffet! I can taste it already.

We'll let you know how it goes.