I went for an enjoyable run this morning in preparation for the 4-mile race tomorrow. The usual apprehension and excitement is beginning to bubble up. I know I haven’t been training enough, but I keep telling myself, just have fun. The rest doesn’t matter.

I was trying to improve my time. The last race I did was a 5k at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, before this past summer. I was a minute away from winning third place, but I can’t remember what my time was. I think my best 5k time was 34 minutes. I’m not going for record-breaking speed, of course, but I was working toward 25, which would have been a great accomplishment for someone who was never athletic until 2011.

Maybe I’ll get there.

I’ve been battling the fear of trigeminal neuralgia pain, so I hope tomorrow morning goes well. I’ll just take it easy, do my best, and try not to worry. Sometimes running makes my face hurt, so I have to be careful.

But I won’t let this defeat me. I’ve been okay for the past week or so, and I’ve hardly had any sensitivity in my face, which is wonderful. I’m hoping the race tomorrow won’t change that.

I love running too much to stop. You will not beat me, TN!

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And get your running legs on, it’s going to be a beautiful day!