I'm Only Half-Crazy

It's hard to believe that I'm less than 36 hours from starting my very first half-marathon! I'm excited and nervous and trying not to let my head fill with thoughts that can drive me crazy, such as:

Can I make it through the entire 13.1 miles without getting a blister on my foot/pulling a muscle/collapsing from exhaustion? Can I go the whole time without needing a bathroom break? Can I finish in what I consider to be a respectable time for a first-timer? Can I avoid being beaten by an 80 year-old with a walker? Can I finish AT ALL? 

I don't think it's coincidence that this race is coming at the conclusion of my small group study of Gideon by Priscilla Shirer. As pointed out numerous times in the study, Gideon was someone who was considered himself to be too weak to be used by God, and yet God thought otherwise and used him to deliver Israel from the Midianites. We talked a lot in our study about how God uses our weaknesses, and I think that can extend to physical weakness as well. I still consider myself to be a pretty slow runner without a lot of stamina, but knowing that I have a lot of friends and family encouraging me and praying for me will help me do much better than I can on my own.

Another thing that's helping me not get totally freaked out about Saturday's race is the fact that last Saturday, my friend Elisabeth and I walked nearly all of the course. Our training plan had originally called for us to do 10 miles that day, but we ended up doing a little over 12 miles. I was glad that we'd gone farther than we'd planned because I think that if we'd stopped at 10, I would have felt intimidated with those last 3.1 miles on race day. Now that I've done nearly all of the course, I feel more confident. It's still going to be tough (especially that dreaded hill on Perry Street near the end of the race), but knowing what to expect is definitely helping calm my nerves.

I'm taking a break from boot camp or running tomorrow to give myself a rest day before the big day on Saturday. I'm getting together with friends for a race eve pasta party to carb up for the half. And I'm well stocked with epsom salts and have a post-race massage scheduled. I can't wait to cross the finish line--wish me luck!