T minus eight days to the big half marathon, and I have a problem. OK…problems.

#1: What in the world do I wear?! Missouri weather was abnormally warm until last week, so until then I was still in shorts and t-shirts. It was cooler this week. On Tuesday I started off in tights, wind pants, long-sleeved T, and fleece with gloves and ear muff/headband thing; I finished that run with the tights, wind pants, and long-sleeved T. Today I went out in 50-degree weather in tights and long-sleeved T with gloves and ear muff/headband thing, and I cut my run short because I was burning up. Clearly, I’m afraid of being too cold, and so far that’s not working too well for me. It’s too soon for next Sunday’s forecast, but it’s looking like I’ll have to force myself to wear shorts. I’ll keep you posted.

#2: My pace has dropped from 12+ min/mile to sub-12 min/mile, and I’m not sure how that’s going to affect my race. Yes, I’m running faster, but I’m walking more frequently, too. I’m just nervous about that.

#3: My frickin’ left hip. I can’t think of anything I did to it this week, but it hurts when I walk and feels like it’s in constant need of popping. I had a similar issue with my right hip when I taking dance classes a year or so ago, but I have no idea how to remedy the problem.

On a more positive note, I made a Google Map of the race complete with athletic supporter rendezvous points and a spreadsheet of my estimated splits for my athletic supporters. Mom, Dad, Martha (mother-in-law), Don (father-in-law), Chris, and Jacob (my brother) are all going to follow my progress in exchange for a box of Krispy Kremes. More later…