The training is done. My race packet is picked up. I'll be heading out for a pre-race carb-loading meal with friends in just a couple of hours. Tomorrow is D-Day!
It's hard to believe that tomorrow morning I'll be running my first ever half-marathon. Just a few short months ago, I thought there was no way I could ever do such a thing, but by this time tomorrow, it will all be over! It's been an interesting journey, with some definite ups and downs. I've had some great long runs (my 8-miler I wrote about) and some horrible long runs (my 10-miler last weekend). I've definitely learned some things along the way (don't get your orthotics recovered a week and a half before your race) and become a better, stronger runner through all of it. That's kind of a crazy thought in and of itself. I'm a runner now. Weird.
I'm pretty nervous about the race. I actually feel kind of the same way that I did before my first triathlon last summer. Hey, that turned out ok, right? I feel like my physical problems are under control (tons of thanks to my friends at Panther PT for helping get my hip pain figured out and calmed down), it's just the mental stuff I'm worried about right now. I think it's good to be a little nervous before a big race, as long as you don't have a complete freak-out. I know I can do this. I might not hit all my goals, but I will finish. If I have to walk, if it takes me way longer than I'd hoped, that's ok, because I will finish. And when I do finish, I can say that I completed a half-marathon. Which is something pretty special that not everybody can say.
Wish me luck! I'll be back tomorrow or Monday with a race report!