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Friday, May 4, 2012

Pre-Race Chaos

I'm starting to freak out.  And stress...ALOT.  Ever have one of those days/weeks where you feel like you literally have a BAZILLION things to do, but you know it's just not all gonna get done?  Well, that's me and my life right now.  Tomorrow is Race Day.  I'm running the Cap City Half Marathon in Columbus tomorrow.  And even though I'll be running 13.1 tomorrow, today I'm running behind.  Needless to say, this post will be short so I can get to work! 

First there is the packing.  Hubby and I are staying at a hotel tonight so we don't have to make the long drive in the morning.  (That would TOTALLY stress me out)  So there is packing, not just for me and hubby, but for the kiddos too.  They will be staying with the grandparents while we're gone.  I tried like crazy all this week to get lots of laundry done, so that's a plus...hopefully I won't have to hunt around for clean clothes!  My other dilemma is what to pack for me for Race Day.  The original plan was to wear my running capris and a shirt I made with my name on the front and a saying on the back that read, "This would be fun if it weren't for all the running!"  When we (meaning my running buddy Jenny and I) ran our first Half-Marathon last fall, we were surprised to see everyone running with these sayings on the backs of their shirts.  At first it seemed sort of odd, but then it became some what of a life-support.  Those sayings kept us going!  We would be thinking about our aching muscles or blistering feet and then read a new funny saying on a shirt in front of us and laugh!  But Mother Nature has different plans for this race.  It's going to be quite warm!  The high tomorrow is 80 degrees!  Luckily we won't be running at the peak temp, but the forcast shows that it will be 67 when the race starts and 72 around the time we'll finish.  Trust me, that's WAY better than running in 80 degrees...however when you run, a rule of thumb is to dress as if it's 15 degrees warmer than the temp outside...which means tank tops and shorts are in order.  I have one pair of running shorts that I haven't run in but once this year (it's not a good idea to run in something for the first time during a race), and one tank top that is race-worthy.  And my shorts are pretty supportive at the waist, which in turn create a nice muffin top on me.  Pair that with the tighter fitting tank and it's not a glorious sight to behold!  So I'm packing like 5 different option of shirts/shorts/capris and will decide what on earth I'm wearing tomorrow morning I guess!

In addition to the clothes, there are numerous running paraphernalia that needs to be packed too....shoes, socks that won't give you blisters mid-race, my Garmin 405 (which I LOVE btw!), anti-chafing cream, chapstick, Pretzel M&Ms (my fuel of choice right now), my runner belt, ipod, numerous chargers, lots more!  I may need a suitcase just for my own things!!

Next up is the house.  It's a mess right now!  And we have small group at our house on Sun even, which means if the cleaning doesn't get done today, that is what I will be doing when I get home!  I wish someone would invent a self-cleaning house!  And self-cleaning kids and husbands too!  lol

I also have a slew of perennials to plant that I receive in a plant exchange early this week.  I started planting last night, but only got a few in the ground.  That is one of those things that may just have to wait until we get back!  AND my hubby picked up a truck-load of mulch for me yesterday...so there's that to do too!  (But that will most definitely wait until next week!)

Despite all the stress involved with this race, I'm looking for to it.  Well, maybe not the race, but everything else.  When we leave today we're heading straight to the Expo to pick up our shirts and our packets containing our bib (that's race lingo for the piece of paper with your participant number that you pin to the front of your shirt).  There are also vendors there, so we can do a bit of shopping too!  (Goodbye stress!)  Afterwards we are meeting up with some friends for dinner at Buca di Beppo for some old-fashioned carbo-loading.  After that we're heading back to the hotel to relax and unwind a bit before trying to get some sleep.  When we booked our hotel, we paid $20 more to get a romance basket filled with snacks, champagne, etc AND late check-out!  When you run a race and are all sweaty, the last thing you want to do is to go out for lunch and/or ride 1.5 hrs home in a car!  So we'll be coming back to the hotel to SHOWER!!!!  That, my friends, is money well spent!  lol

So there you have it...that is what is going on in my life one day prior to a big race!  Makes you want to start running too, huh?  lol  Wish me luck!  :) 

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