My first long race is tomorrow and I am nervous! I feel prepared (enough) but anything new can be scary. I thought it would be fun to look back at my first race in January 2011 and remember how freaked out I was.

I wrote about my fears, the night before that first 5K. It was pretty standard fare, falling, feeling foolish, being last, and not being able to finish. Pretty similar to how I feel about the upcoming race. Then there were also the fears of the logistics, not knowing where to line up, hoping my D-Tag was on correctly, do I drink the water at the water stops, and assorted other issues that you eventually learn the answers to. (Can you tell that I am a worrier? It might actually be more frantic in my head than I am able to share here.)

Luckily, I loved the race and it made me want to keep running. Finishing that race, even though my time was slow and I walked some of it, was euphoric. I hope that tomorrow’s Miracle Miles will be similar, euphoria and pride for finishing (plus a personal distance record).

How do you feel the night before a race?