I'm running my first-ever half marathon on Saturday morning, and it's a big one: the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, organized by the New York Road Runners.

Training for this has been a long process but without ever doing this before, I have been a bit lost at times. It's difficult to tell your friends you can't hang out because you need to run in the morning, and it's also hard to account for rapid changes in weather and the crucial need to bring water on lengthy jogs in the heat.

With only four nights of sleep between me and destiny, I come to the Stride Nation community for their final pieces of advice.

This week, I have been doing the following:

• Cut out alcoholic beverages
• Increased water intake (drinking as much as possible)
• Trying to sleep more
• Doing some light running today and tomorrow, but taking two consecutive days off before Saturday
• Ready to buy some Gu and eat it before/during the half