Getting ready to race

So far, Leah and I have been in pretty different places regarding the race. She's been bouncing off the walls and vibrating like crazy and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can understand her when she speaks, she's been talking so fast. As for me, I have barely been aware that there's a race coming up. Nothing much in the way of nerves. I think I've been too focused on the task of getting my back into shape that I haven't been worrying about the run. Icing for 15 minutes every hour is a lot more than it sounds and it seems that as soon as the ice is off it's back on again. Only one more day of this and then I'm resuming normal activity in anticipation of the race.

For those of you interested, my back is probably at 90%. I have a full range of movement and no pain when I walk (and I've been walking more this morning) and the only sign that I'm not 100% is that the lower back is still a bit tender to the touch. But hey, I'm not planning on touching my back while I run, right?

I'm a little worried that I'm not going to be mentally prepared for the race since I haven't been obsessing about it and so I'm going to try to really focus these next few days and visualize the run, get excited about it. Running on Friday will probably really help with this.

Okay, enough about the back and my mind. Here are my thoughts about the race:

• I need to really focus on miles 22-26(.2) as that's where I faltered last year. I just lost it mentally and only kept running because Leah was running. I'm pretty sure that it'll not be a problem this year since I know I got through it last year.
  
• Don't freak out if I feel like I'm going out fast. I always get freaked out if the start feels like I'm going faster than planned because I'm worried that it'll cost me at the end. My mindset needs to change if I plan to go faster. I need to remember that this is a race and I don't have to run for a whole week after the race. Besides, after the first mile it usually gets easier to run fast anyway. Go for it. Run the damn race.
• Just put one foot in front of the other. Each step you take is that much less you have to run and you are guaranteed to eventually finish. Don't think about the miles. Don't think about how much is left to run. Stay in the moment. Run.
• It's going to be cold, but it's best to just ignore that. Cold is good. It keeps you from over heating and that will only help the you keep running fast. Besides, after the race you get the shiny blanket and it feels so nice and warm. Run for the shiny blanket.

Let's go, people. Game face.