On Your Mark . . .

Tomorrow I'll be peeling myself out of bed early to celebrate my friend Christine's birthday with her, runner-style. We're meeting up in our local grocery store parking lot at 6:50AM to carpool to the Mercer Island 10K. The trick is to get to the Park 'n Ride before it fills, but late enough that we don't have to wait around forever before the race starts at 8:30. Funny, but in the fall she was saying she didn't think she'd ever get up to run before 7. I guess she's been hanging around ME too much.



This is my first race of the season, and the race that will let me know if a half marathon really is a realistic consideration for 2010. Last year's race season was a great one - I ran consistently faster and even broke 25:00 for 5K. This year I've built up my mileage base steadily and my legs are feeling strong. I'm feeling ready to run!



Will my story be the same tomorrow? Not sure! There are a few things that have me feeling a bit uneasy (but not bad, just anxious I guess):

- Today was a sunny day with temperatures in the low 70s. Not bad for the 1st official day of Spring! Tomorrow is another beast entirely with the high forecast to be in the mid-50s and a 70-80% chance of rain all day.

- Christine and I previewed portions of the race course this afternoon after we picked up our packets. Let's just say I'm glad I did some hilly runs with her. *gulp*



- I'm not quite sure what to wear. Capri pants for sure, but the sleeve length is still up for a vote. Injinji socks (rainbow with toes!) were another easy choice, though - they are festive & comfortable.

My goals should put everything in perspective for me, though:

1. Have fun. This is a birthday run, after all and I'm there to support my friend and make sure she starts off this next year with a bang!



2. Settle into a good pace. This will take some steady breathing and some strong reminders for my controlling brain to BACK OFF and let my body take over and go for it. I know once I settle in that the run will be a good one. I have trained pretty well for this and need to put faith in my preparation.



3. While Christine has a definite time goal in mind, I'm approaching this as the starting point for my season. It'll be my baseline for the 10K I run in June. If I finish too fast in this race (say, under 50 minutes), I'll just get myself all competitive and crazy for June so I need to remember that this is the start. If I can keep going with Christine the whole race, I certainly will. But if I sense that she's ready to push a bit harder and I'm not . . . I'll wave her on with a smile and be happy to see her again at the finish line.



Get set . . . GO! Happy running!