Great way to prepare for a race

Tomorrow is my next race, an easy 5K, possibly in a little rain. This race was a curve ball in my training as my next race was meant to be the 10K in 2 weeks time. Still, this is the Raising Cane's 5K so I had to do it. It did mean adjusting my training this week. A much lighter week but this morning I got the muscles working to make sure they were ready for tomorrow. It had just got light and was still in the 70s when I laced up my sneakers and took to the concrete. 2 miles later I felt great. The legs were working, not pain in the knees and even the shoulder was happy. I think the body enjoyed the few days off. Still, tomorrow I will try to run a slower 5K than last time, I have to keep reminding myself that every time I run I am conditioning myself for the marathon, not the 2 miles today, 5K tomorrow or 10K in 2 weeks. It's not about winning a race, it is about getting myself ready for the long one. I could push myself and probably run sub 25 minutes tomorrow but that would mean a few days rest afterwards which would hind the 10K preparation, so a 28 - 30 minute 5K would be much better for me. Now, if I could just get my legs to understand that they need to slow down a little all would be good.