I'm gonna be so honest here. I was freaked out. I did not think in a million years I would do well. I struggled through my long runs, struggled through some boot camp runs too actually. My knees were mad at me.
So I had accepted the fact race day was gonna suck, from the pre race jitters & panic, to the grueling 26 miles, to my pathetic finish & I decided to look forward to and thoroughly enjoy the running clubs pasta party & expo day!!
That was going to me my happy place! Where all my fun was to be had PLUS on expo day I was spending the day with Elizabeth!
The pasta party was great cause all of us got dressed up and smelled nice as opposed to meeting before the sun comes up & sweating together for miles. There was light chatter about what everyone was wearing who would be there to cheer us on, how everyone was getting to the race. The club did a raffle giveaway and we carb loaded!
I got lasagna is did not agree with me too greasy!
My goodies I won
My team VEGAS BABY!!
Next up was the expo! We had it all scheduled, expo at the convention center, drive the course & dinner aka carb loading at Pat & Oscars.
The day went pretty flawlessly. It was very exciting, slightly overwhelming & with 4 kids in tow, teeny bit stressful. I leave my kids a lot for work, training, fishing & when I get to have a life so I didn't wanna leave them for this BUT without kids (& if I had $ to spare) I could have spent more time (& cash) at each booth.
Me & my marathon sisters
& all the kiddos!!
I did wait FOREVER at the K tape booth for them to tape my knee- what a joke I do not believe it could have helped my knee pain! I wanted to try it but the stupid tape came off before the race anyway!
Lots of free samples of bars & drinks there, mostly stuff that I did not like. I was thrilled to get free sample packets of pain relieving gels. Perfect for my race pouch & maybe some knee pain relief during the race???
After the expo we set out to drive the race course. It was Elizabeth at the wheel & me co-pilot & the kids partying in the back haha! Side note: we are SO ready for the Amazing Race!! Jenni had set out before us & had said to skip a large portion of the course because of maneuvering through downtown (we didn't listen). It was a lot of traffic and some road closures or one way streets that made it tricky but we covered most the route. I was trying to mentally memorize the elevation, long stretches, and it seemed Elizabeth was focused in landmarks along the route.
I was SO glad we did this. I'm not sure how or why it made feel better but it did. I think it took away any surprises the course may have had & it became all familiar territory. It also seemed insane the distance we were going to cover!
Driving the course
We went to dinner and enjoyed our Pat & Oscars CARBS! I ate like my old self. So easy to go back to those old habits. Post race weight loss challenge Tri-Kate must reappear!
After Elizabeth brought us home I went off to Target to get some supplies- pretzels, sharpies for sign making, icy hot pain spray, bandages, blister covers...
After Target I decided I needed some de-stress & alone time. I went to the YMCA put the kids in kids place & got in the jacuzzi.
The sign as I walked in the Y
As I sat there I went through the race course in my mind. I had been staring at the map on paper for 2 weeks but now I had visually seen it and ran through each step. I wasn't confident about my race I was just aware now. Mostly I focused on the sections I was breaking it up into. I knew 163 was going to be a LONG stretch but once past it I was in all familiar territory. Familiar doesn't mean easy just means I know the turf & all the bumps and cracks in the road.
After the Y we got froyo & I headed to be for what I was told would be the best pre-race sleep I was gonna get.
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