5k is equal to 16 miles, right?!?

My long run this weekend is scheduled for a whooping 16 miles, the longest to date.  I was just starting to think about my route for the upcoming weekend when my cousin and husband re-alerted me to the 5K that is happening in my town this weekend.  I had heard about this race previously but had pretty much decided there was no way I was going to be able to take part in this given my training schedule....

Well, I guess I succumb to peer pressure.  And when I say peer pressure that pretty much means pressure from myself, because the more I looked at this race the more I knew I wanted to do it.  Apparently this is my town's day.  It is called "Insert Town Name Here Day" and there are tons of celebratory events for the day starting with the 5K.  To make matters more enticing, my wonderful cousin and her boyfriend are running it.  Come on, how can I miss that?!?! Really, I am sucker for cheap races that give shirts, what more can you ask for.  Plus on top of it all I have NEVER done a 5k, believe it or not.  So what is a gal to do?!? You guessed it, I signed myself up this morning, without even a seconds thought (ok I lied, I made my husband talk it out with me, for like 2 seconds, that's all I promise).

So where does this leave me?  Well, I have to 16 miles on Saturday still (it just won't go away) and I also have to do a 5K. In all honesty, I would love to really race this 5K. I know I have it in me.  But my sights are bigger and much longer for this training cycle.  So I don't think that is in the cards for this "marathoner to be."  Instead, I have been trying to think of a plan that will allow me to do both.. I have heard some excellent suggestions but I think I might stick with the go 13 miles and then do the last 3 in the race.  If I am feeling really bad, hopefully the crowd and my cousin can carry me and if I am feeling good I will keep at the pace I was going out for the other miles.

This might be an awful plan.  I don't know. I have never been one to tack on to a race, usually if I am racing it is the race I have been seriously training for. This would just be kind of a run that happens to be a race as well.  Hmph.  I don't know, so many races, so little time.

How about all of you, have you ever encountered this problem?  What do you do?