First Time Jitters

Munn is an old-hat when it comes to races. She's already done the venerable 4 milers, probably a few 10 milers, and vanquished the half marathon. I, on the other hand, will be ending my 25 year embargo on public running tomorrow, for the first time. And the thought of it has me on edge. Anyone with a funny run will understand.

Tomorrow, with the Haiti Benefit 4 miler, we're going to be raising a ton of money for an absolutely deserving cause, but that doesn't mean that it's not going to be a shocking time for me. Or so my mind keeps telling me.

These days, I eat 4 miles for breakfast...on a treadmill, or even on the West Side Highway. I've run up to 10 miles in one go, and our race on Sunday is a 10 miler. So it seems completely irrational that the thought of running those four short miles bright and early tomorrow morning has literally given me a knot in my stomach. It's a knot of fear, not of excitement; of shaking and lightheadedness; of wanting to hide under the covers in bed with a torch; of not wanting to eat for days; a knot of sheer, unadulterated, wantingtothowupedness. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was in love.

Well, they say that you never forget your first time, and more importantly, that it's almost invariably terrible. I for one will be hoping that my first time is short, quick and uneventful. Oh, and that I finish.