one week to 13.1.

Whoa.

It has been almost a year since I really started my run journey and while I didn't meet the original goal of running a marathon this year (let's face it, that was not smart), I am one week away from a half marathon. 13.1 miles. When I say one week, I mean that in one week from right this second, I will be done. I will have completed my first half marathon.

So I will repeat myself: Whoa.

My brother and I after our Thanksgiving 5k.

Now that it's here, I'm nervous. It's only going to get worse this week, I can guarantee it. I'm going to be a mess by Friday when I fly to Vegas. But it will be part of the experience - some of my great friends from college will be doing this half with me, we'll be on the Vegas Strip at night, and we'll be with 44,000 other people who are either running the half or the full marathon.

So while this is not going to be easy, here are a few things I am going to remind myself of before and during the race:

1. Last year, I had done approximately 0 running races in my entire life. Today as I was adding my latest run bib to my collection, I realized I have done 6 races this year. The half is lucky number 7!
2. My longest run was 9 miles. Which was a little less than I had been hoping for, but guess what? I ran those 9 miles on a stinking treadmill. If I can run for 2 hours on a treadmill, I can totally do it outside. 
3. My last 5k, the Lansing Turkeyman Trot on Thanksgiving, was a huge PR for me - 32:52. My first 5k was over 39 minutes and that was from March. My previous PR was 35:26. Either my running has improved tremendously or running closer to sea level is a million times easier than running at 6500 feet in Colorado. Either way, this bodes well for me come next Sunday.
4. If I let my legs recover, and I stretch the way I am supposed to, running feels great. Breathing is typically not the problem. And I have a mantra if my legs start to shout: Shut up, legs.
5. The race might be harder than I imagined it, but I didn't train as much as I probably could have. Next time, I am going to be more diligent. 
6. My run form is decent... as long as my elbows don't ride up too far. Goal for this race (besides finishing)? Not to look like a chicken.
7. Running is supposed to be fun. Even if it is hard, which I suspect it will be, I need to remember to smile. Running is a little easier with a smile.
8. After this half is over, and my legs finally allow me to walk normally again, I'm going to go back to basics (I guess) and do a plan that builds up to a 10k. Running is a work in progress, an art to master. That's what makes it a great hobby.
9. I need to run my own race. My OWN race. Even though I have friends there and there will be thousands and thousands of others there, I can't go outside my comfort zone at the start. I need to keep a pace I know I can work with and not worry about who is passing me or who is an hour ahead of me.
10. When the race is over? Beer. Beer. Beer.

If you have any advice from your own distance running experiences, please let me know! I'd love to hear it.