Bass Pro Pre-Race

My race overview is here.

There is a lot to be said for running a marathon close to home!  The day before the race my running group met in the race expo parking lot for a shake out run before going through the expo together.  Next year I need to remember that the expo will take 3 times as long as I expect, because I run into so many amazing local runners to talk to!  We all got our packets, took some group photos, and commented that this years shirts were the best they'd ever had.  I then returned home by noon for a lot of laying around, cleaning, laundry, reading, foam rolling, and eating.

Daylight savings time ended at 2:00 a.m. on race morning, meaning that my 4:15 a.m. alarm would have felt like 5:15 a.m., but I was wide awake by 3:00 a.m.  I ended up reading and dozing a little more on the couch before getting up to eat breakfast, finish some laundry, get into my race attire, and do some mobility before leaving my house solo at 5:50 a.m. (Jon and Albani came a little later).  I drank UCAN on the drive to the race.

My Miles from Mentor group met for photos at 6:15 a.m., and I did all of my usual pre-marathon routines including 10-15 minutes of easy jogging, drills, light strides, changing shoes, sipping UCAN, and shedding my warm ups.  I was with my friends throughout the process, which kept it relaxed and fun.  Not having a time goal always makes me more relaxed as well!

I couldn't choose a favorite!

10 minutes before the start, Casey realized that she didn't have her bib number!  She asked me who she should talk to, and I sent her back to registration (which was on a different side of the gigantic building than the start), while Abby and I took all of her stuff to Abby's car and fretted about Casey making it back in time!  I tend to get on this starting line at the last minute because you can, and Abby and I popped into the corral around 6:56.  The National Anthem started, and as it neared an end, Casey jumped into the corral with us.  I think I may have been more stressed about the situation than she was, and we were all SO glad she made it back in time!  She had her phone on her since she hadn't made it back to her car, but I told her she could toss it to Jon and Albani at mile 2.5, when I'd also be tossing them my car key (which was preplanned, because with carrying 4 gels I didn't have room for the key fob too!).

I'd scoped out our competition during the National Anthem, and there was one fast looking lady wearing a marathon bib near us.  The others up front were in the half, but I pointed out the marathon lady and told Casey I expected she was our competition.  To complicate things further, Casey and I had told half runners Abby and Sean that we'd pace them at 6:45 pace until the races split around mile 10 IF no other women went out faster than that.

Writing this now, it seems like there was a lot going on, but really it was extremely laid back.  There is something about being on your home turf for a race!  My running group runs parts of this course all the time, particularly in October, and for me familiarity = comfortable.

The story continues here.