16 Days to Go!

So, the countdown begins.  It's 16 days until my first half marathon.  I find myself excited yet completely nervous.  I know I've been training, and doing what I can during these past few months.  But I still seem to feel so unprepared.

My goal is literally to just run this thing without stopping to walk.  I know that might sound like a lame goal, and I should be shooting for time.  But ultimately, it's just about running it without stopping.  I think, what if I get tired, get a side-ache, have to pee, need to refuel, (?) etc...the list goes on.  What if I can't make it?  I will be so disappointed in myself.  I know this is my inner-critic, and I should just look at what I have done this far.  I mean, I AM a mommy of two, working full-time, running a household and still finding time to train.  But alas, it's about meeting the goal. 

I had a friend from work come over to me yesterday to talk about the race, and we discussed prep talk (what to eat, how to breathe when running, etc...).  It got me all fired up.  I was excited, and it made me look forward to it.  Still, I could feel those butterflies flying around throughout my tummy with nervousness and anxiety.  I just think, sheesh...I feel this way now, wait until the night before the actual race!

Makes me wonder how professional athletes feel before their big games/matches/races.  Like Lance Armstrong and the pressure to win continuously.  Or Nadel and/or Federer before a tennis match to continuously be the best of the best.  I just don't know how they do it time after time.  I'm just a little, ol' mom running for fun(?).  I say that with a question, because I wonder sometimes why I do it.

I find myself complaining all the time before I have to run/train/get out there and get going.  But after I'm done running/training, all I can do is go on and on about how good I feel, how great it was to get out there.  It's like a sickness or something.  Must be the running endorphins.  Ha!

Anyhow, this race is upon me.  I'm now in the last 2 weeks of training, and then it's on!  Crazy to think how far I've come.  And to think I just had my daughter 5 1/2 months ago.  The concept of time fascinates and horrifies me all in the same.  Let the countdown begin.