Oh Me Nerves!

It is the eve before my first race post-Ellie.
And I'm nervous.
It's a feeling most, if not all runners are familiar with.
My stomach is in knots and my mind is going over the possible race scenarios.
By morning I will be a bundle of crazy anxiety and until my race is done, I won't feel like myself.
Now, I have run countless races and run countless L-O-N-G training runs, but each and every time I am scheduled to run 10km or more, I get nervous!
I know, without a doubt, that my body can do this distance, but I still, every time get nervous.
For me, it's what makes me feel like a runner.  A real, bonified runner.
I know that lots of runners will never cross a finish line, and that doesn't make them any less of a runner.  But personally, the thrill of standing like a herd of cattle in a start line corral (true name - not made up!) is a feeling like no other.

I know, and I can tell anyone who's contemplating doing their first race, that if you register for the race, put in the miles and get your rear to the start line, that you will finish.
And the medal that will be placed around your neck at the end of the race cannot compare to the pride you will carry with you forever.
The race numbers, timing chips, last minute bathroom breaks - they're all part of the nerves, and ultimately, the race experience.
Until you've stood in a long line of runners at a single porta potty in a 300 participant race, you have not pushed your nerves to their fraying threshold.
It is exhilarating to hear the gun or the tone to signal the beginning of the race, and then feel the crowd's excitement as the people start surging forward.
I always reflect on the runners in the crowd who may be running their first race, or their first 5km ever, or 10km ever, and can't help but feel inspired.
This is what sparked my own temptation to run a marathon, and I am definitely feeling it again!
To step foot over the furthest distance you've ever done - 11km, past your first 10 or 22km, past your first 21 is such a unique feeling and unfortunately, one that cannot be duplicated.
Having done a marathon, I know that I can do the distance - just as I know I can do the distance tomorrow, yet I sometimes miss the feeling of running further than I ever have before.

I guess it might be time for a 50km race?