Cue Tacky Pump-Up Music

Starting this post, I suddenly became acutely aware that I've mentioned NXR at least once the last two times I've written.  I should probably be ashamed, but I'm not.  I promise this will be the last post.  (That was a dirty lie.  I'll probably write another update tomorrow, and again after the race.  #dealwithit).
There are less than 48 hours now until I line up to compete at NXR.  And it's terribly exciting.  Yesterday, I did my final workout before the race, and it wasn't even horrible.  It didn't feel like I was drowning in a pool of my own adrenaline, but it also didn't feel like I was a slug struggling to crawl through the mud.  It was a fairly straightforward workout, just 4x1200 at race pace with 800 meter jog recovery, and I finished it feeling as if I could run several more, which is always the goal with workouts like this.

I'm actually looking forward to quite a few aspects of NXR.  First of all, it will be my first race in about a month.  I haven't competed since my state meet in October, which didn't go as well as I wanted it to as a result of stress and some illness.  It will also be my first chance to run with girls my age in quite awhile.  Since my teammates Sophie and Maddie graduated last year, I have had to do many of my workouts alone.  Though it does make racing that much more excited, training alone isn't quite as much fun.  Racing in Arizona will also be nice.  This week, it's average between 0 and 32 degrees where I live, so running in shorts weather again with be refreshing.  Plus it's a great chance to make my tan lines even deeper.  Finally, we get to spend the evening after the race having team shenanigans, and those are always the most fun on the Arizona and California trips.  Oh, and flying out to meets never gets old.  Knitting on the plane is always a good time.  And we get hats at NXR!  And sometimes lanyards or shoelaces!  And if you run fast they give you a shirt, too!  There's just so much to look forward to.