I've been running for fitness and fun, lately. At the beginning of November, I plan to attempt a half-marathon (13.1 miles.) I'm feeling pretty good about my chances of completing it before they close the course (3:30 hours).

Things I am no longer worried about:

• Being mechanically able to run 13.1 miles. I ran 6 miles yesterday, and 7 today. It hurts a lot now, but I figure if my joints and soles can take it over the course of 26 hours, they'll do fine over the course of 4 hours.

Things I'm still freaking out about:

• Being aerobically able to run 13.1 miles. I've never run more than 8 miles at once, and it seems silly to run a half-marathon in training to find out if I can complete a half-marathon.
• How hilly the course will be. I went a different way, this morning's run, and ended up on a much hillier road than normal. (Somehow, it escaped my attention that a road named "Hillcrest" would actually be hilly.)
• How cold it will be. This morning and last, it was 55F, and I did fine with it, but much colder than that and I'll have to rethink my wardrobe.
• Injuring myself sometime in the next two weeks. Every time I get any twinge of anything in my shins, I freak out about shin splints. I had them once when I was in high school, and I'm terrified of getting them again. I'm doing a good job of not overtraining, but I can't help but feel like I'm betraying myself when I force myself back to bed at 5am because today is a rest day and I'm going to rest if it kills me.
• Pooping. I spent this morning reading "I pooped myself while running" horror stories, and didn't really learn anything except oh my god that's horrifying.