Countdown....Nerves....What Have I Done???

As I start writing this, it is 10:53 a.m., Friday, May 3rd. 

24 hours from now, I should be somewhere around the Mile 11 marker on the route of the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

For the past three days, I've been fighting a growing case of nerves and "what have I done-itis."

I haven't completed a full 13.1-mile walk since nearly three weeks ago. And I did the last two miles of that with tears in my eyes because I hurt so badly.

The new shoes I got a month ago - which felt GREAT in the store - have become a bit problematic as I've broken them in because they let my feet and ankles roll to the inside. I didn't really figure that out until this week, though. So even though I got inserts for them for arch support and to help counteract the roll, it's too late now to be experimenting with new things. So I'm going back to the old shoes for tomorrow....which seems appropriate, considering that they are the shoes that got me to this point in the first place.

I managed 11.5 miles this past Monday before it got cut short by a family semi-emergency. But even at that distance, my knees were hurting in a way they haven't hurt since last summer and fall when I first started walking. Again, I think the new shoes have thrown off my balance and destabilized my already-shaky knees. Now the question is, will they hold up?

Will the ankles hold up?

The weather is supposed to be icky tomorrow. Cooler and overcast, if not rainy. Ugh. Rainy. I don't mind cooler and overcast, though. Even if it's in the 50s, I'll work up a sweat quickly enough.

I was watching the news from Indianapolis yesterday, trying to get the latest weather forecast. They had a report from the Convention Center where they're holding the Runners' Expo and where you pick up your race packets. I saw it, and there was a prolonged moment of "AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" It's really happening, that's where I'll be later today, picking up packets for myself & Sandi. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"

I don't see how people are supposed to "carb up" the day before a race. I'm so nervous today I can barely eat at all. 

My head is swimming. My stomach is fluttering. I really just want to get there and get down to business. Better yet, I want to be back in my hotel room, getting a hot shower AFTER it's over.

It's 11:25 now. 24 hours from now I should be in the final mile, if not across the Finish Line yet.

See ya on the flip side!