Please, let me run farther!

Tomorrow morning I plan to pre-burn off all (okay, some) Thanksgiving calories in the Walnut Creek Turkey Trot.

There's both a 5K and 10K race, and for the last couple months I've been planning on running the 5K. The last 5K I ran was in July when I was just getting back into running, and I want to see how much better I can do now that I'm in better shape.

But for the last week or so I've found myself thinking, "Maybe I'll just run the 10K instead." Have a guess for why that thought is crossing my mind? It's because I'M AFRAID of the 5K!! I've got it in my head that I want to run this race for time, but I'm so bad at running fast!

I ran my fastest 5K (that same July race) at a 9:19 pace. If you catch yourself wanting to say something like, "That's not so bad Laura," just wait until I tell you that I ran my 11 mile run last Saturday at a 9:17 pace. I reach what feels like a challenging pace for me and although I'm able to sustain it, I can't seem to go any faster. I guess this means I'm a distance runner?

To add to my out-of-control nerves, Disgusting Kelsea has now decided to join us. Don't get me wrong. I'm super excited to have her along. But now I know there's truly no backing down. When it comes to those shorter distances Kelsea is FAST and I'm going to try and keep up with her for as long as I can.

So here are my tiered goals:

• Beat my PR - Barring large crowds or other uncontrollable road blocks, I should be able to do this.
• Run faster than a 9:00 pace / finish under 28:00 min - This also seems feasible, but you never know.
• Finish under 27:30 - I feel less confident about this one even though it's what the race calculators tell me I should be able to do.
• Keep up with Kelsea - If I manage this one we'll know it's because Kelsea held herself back for me. Awww...what a good friend.

And with that I will begin my race prep activities - drinking water and baking pies!