Mental Preparation for a Half Marathon

In little more than 30 hours I'll be lined up at the starting line for the Moab Other Half. Usually I'd be a bit more excited than I am right now, I'm not so excited because I have not been training for a half marathon very well. Also because the forecast is calling for rain/snow tomorrow and lingering into Sunday morning. The race won't be all bad though. I am looking forward to just race again, its been quite some time since my last real race. I am hoping all goes well for Erika, being that this is by far the longest race and probably run she has ever done. I'll report on our results and experience next week.
I bought a new running headband tonight, that makes me feel better about running in the cold. I think it is the little things that help me prepare for a race like this the most. I learned that during High School. I was always one of the fastest runners in cross country and track during Jr. High and High School, but I was terrible when it came to actually running a race. I got anxious and stressed out before every race to the point that I usually finished 3rd or 4th on my team. That trend of excelling in practice and failing in races continued until my senior year. I finally figured out that if I relaxed, made sure I was comfortable, and having a good time with friends or just enjoying where I was that I could race as well as I practiced. My overall finishing placements rose from the mid 50's to the top ten finishers that year.