I. Am. Freaking. Out.

I have had 12 weeks to plan for every aspect of this weekend. Yet, I find myself now worrying about a million different things. Like:

1. Where will I carry my GU? I only tried it for the first time last run so I hadn't thought of this. My short pocket is too small (key size), and pinning a baggy to my shirt might get annoying because of the bouncing.
2. Which leads me to...why the heck did I only try GU for the first time last run? That can't be nearly enough time to get the kinks out...
3. I have a blister. I want to cushion it while I run because it freakin' hurts, but yet the cardinal rule is that I'm not supposed to try anything new on race day. Is there an exception for blisters? What if "they" are right? What if the Band-Aid crunches up and causes a blister somewhere else? I could use a wrap, but what if I wrap it too tightly and cause a calf cramp?
4. Should I save the songs that really fire me up for the beginning or the end? That's the problem with the shuffle, it's hard to find songs again once you've passed them.
5. I finally found shorts that don't ride up, but when I ran 10 the other night, they rode up the last couple of miles! What if they're riding up (or worse, I'm digging them out) when they take my picture at 8.5 miles or crossing the finish line?

There's more, but you probably already think I'm a freak (Lori). Unless you're Christine, then you get it.

Moving on to time goals...here they are...drum roll please...

1. Perfect circumstance goal=2:24:00. This would mean an 11:00/mile pace, which is 45 seconds slower than my 10k pace and 1 minute faster than my 10 mile training run. I haven't run any training run longer than 6 miles at better than an 11:00/mile pace so this would be quite an accomplishment for me.

2. Pleased with the time goal=2:30:00. This would put me at a pace of 11:30/mile which is 30 seconds faster than my 10 mile training run. I'm planning to start out with this pace group and see how this pace feels.

3. Live with it goal=2:37:00. This is a 12:00/mile pace which I was able to sustain for 10 miles. Hopefully I can run another 3.1 at the same pace. I'll be pretty disappointed if I finish above 2:30:00, but I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for it.

You may notice that I no longer have a 2:15:something goal. I think it's unrealistic based on my previous times, and I really just want to finish as satisfied and as happy as I felt after my 10 mile run on Monday. I want to finish thinking, "I'm going to do that again." Now, I know I'll be exhausted (and yes, Sis, I might even cry tears of exhaustion), I know my body will ache, and I know I'll be walking like John Wayne for a couple of days, but I want to run conservatively and finish happy (as happy as someone who just ran 13.1 miles can feel).

So...say a prayer for me at 8am (and at 9:00am...and at 10:00am...and at 10:30am...hopefully you can stop after that!!!).