Taper Madness

Well - a week ago I was not in such good spirits. I had a 13 mile run to do that morning (the 17th) and was planning on 16. Legs still felt fine, so I thought "why not?". (I had done something different a few days before at the gym - walking on a treadmill for 5 minutes, raising the slope from 5% to eventually 10%. Next day realized I shouldn't have when my left shin became very sore during the last two miles of my 7 mile tempo run. I walked the last 2miles. Luckily - the pain passed quickly.)
So, back to Sunday - I was on a good pace thru 9 or 10 miles. The my groin became sore again. Didn't have to stop, but it wasn't pleasant. Thought that the marathon could be a disaster if it happened that early on race day. Needless to say - I stopped at 13 after slowing dramatically at the end. I had stopped at one point to chat with a (former) runner who mentioned he had a hernia at some point, and that got me worried. I knew others that had surgery and thought I should get it checked out.
Turns out the doctor saw no indications on Tuesday. Better safe than sorry, guess my mind was on overdrive. Wed had a good speedwork session (5x1000m) and Friday had a decent 6mile tempo run. Today's last long run (10 miles) went well too as I met my 8:46/mi specified pace. Had a twinge somewhere in the middle of the run in my left calf that lasted a whole 4 minutes. Last lap I sped up and felt good. With temps pretty much the same as expected right now on race day - I thought I knew what to wear, but after being out there, I decided to forgo a layer next weekend.
Race prediction:
Current race day temps 1 week out are looking like mostly sunny and a high of 62 degrees. Lows around 45deg - so almost ideal for me. With the sun showing itself around 8am (and a few degrees above the low temp), I am thinking a t-shirt and a long sleeve throwaway for the race start. Maybe one other layer for the ~2.5 hours before the race I'll be out. I expect I'll wear my thin gloves for just a couple of miles. I'm just a little worried I may get cold later on if I do have to walk for one reason or another, but I'll deal with that then (or just not walk).
I think a 9:00/mi pace will be comfortable enough for me. I was under that by ~20 secs/mi With walking each lap. I hope to be able to hit the half in 2 hours (1:58?) and keep the pace thru 16-18 miles. If I start my inevitable slow down there and keep it under 10min/mi thru 23 or 24, I'll be happy. I'm expecting it to go downhill due to a calf issue or my groin and struggle the last 2-4 miles. Time may be around 4:08? Stay tuned!!
Traveling to PA for a couple of days before heading up to VA/DC.
Best of luck to all those running their 1st Half & Full Marathons here in Greenville next weekend during the Spinx Runfest. (And of course those who have run them before!)