Having a little freak-out moment here....

So, I’ve made it through the Swamp doing the Gator Gallop.

I did 5k around Lake Alice (also teeming with gators of a different kind).

I’ve done plenty of races and runs in the past 10 months.

I’ve never done a 10k.  

Why is the idea of a 10k scaring me so much?  I’m getting heart palpitations over here, people. I’ve been short of breath for the past hour and really twitchy.  

All week, I’ve been looking forward to this, but around dinner time last night, I began to realize that THIS IS HAPPENING and that I’m not ready for it!  I haven’t packed, I have no To Do Lists of any kind, I don’t know when we are leaving, an worst – I don’t know if I can finish anywhere other than last.

So, I got to work today ready to print maps, confirmations, etc.  Work got busy, but after lunch I was able to go to the www.StAugustineMarathon.com website and check around again.  I pulled up the results from the 2011 10k.  The last finisher came in at 1:37.  If you calculate my Fisher House pace to a 10k, I would come in at 1:36:58.  There were only THREE people who finished over an hour and a half.  That is about the time I started getting a little worried. Then I read the description of the course. They say it’s walker friendly (and they say it in all CAPS, too), but go on to say that the course will be open for an hour and a half (or a 15mm pace). Does this mean they will pick me up? Does this mean I’ll have to dodge cars? What does it MEAN?  

 Ramp up the Pessimistic Polly over here, I’m goin’ for broke. For the past two hours, I’ve been trying to chill, but it’s not working…..

I’m hoping that blogging about it will calm me down some, which it has. 

I got this. 

I know I got this.

Even if I finish next to last, I know that I’m better than one person.

Even if I finish last, I still finished, and lapped everyone who stayed on the couch.

Even if for some horrible reason, they pick me up at the end of the course (which I know is not going to happen), I can hold my head high and say “I ran in a 10k, bitch, what did you do today?” 

Yeah, I’m mean. 

Get over it.