Waddell and Reed Marathon: pre-race
Alright...I'm here in Kansas City typing on my sister's computer when I should be asleep, or trying to get to sleep, but instead I'm compelled to write down my thoughts about today and tonight. First off, I'm excited to be here. We drove the course today, and it looks like it's going to be a challenge. Of particular interest is this spot between mile 12 and 13 where we couldn't figure out the route (we weren't using very detailed directions). Basically it looks like a straight up climb...almost as steep as the big hill behind the golf course on the Duke Cross Country loop that I've been doing my long runs on, except it's a really big hill - like 10x's as long. Surely we'll be getting to the top of that hill differently tomorrow, but you never know. Best to prepare for the worst...I guess, and hopefully there'll be some switch backs involved so we're not going up the hill in a straight line. Oh, the name of the road is Summit. Fitting don't you think?
I'm also relieved and jazzed to have found a coffee shop around mile 18. It's a local roasting company, and though the place looks like a small restaurant, my sister was thinking it probably has some sort of counter service where I could pop in and grab my (soon to be a tradition) small, watered down, iced coffee to reward me for getting to 18 miles and to give me a boost of caffeine for the remaining 8.2 miles.
Pre-race drama: my family came up from Branson and are running the 5K portion of the race, and so there were some logistics to work about when to be at the starting line, where their hotel was and what time to wake up etc...normal stuff I suppose, but when you put us all in a room, we've all got our own answers, and it can get a bit tense to reach consensus. And then their was the tech support phone call I received about an error message from Apple when downloading a movie from iTunes. I told the caller to find an answer by Googling the error code (which is how I found the answer when the same problem happened to me) but there was no answer to be found. Just a bunch of message board posters complaining about how the same thing had happened to them. Bad form Apple! Basically what was supposed to be a relaxing movie night, turned into an hour plus of anxiety-ridden trouble shooting. Not a great way to spend a Friday night.
Despite the drama, I feel like I'm doing pretty good. Holding it together, not letting the drama distract me from being focused and relaxed. I'm looking forward to a fun race tomorrow, though most of it appears to be uphill. Still, I'll be running through some beautiful neighborhoods, and seeing some wonderful architecture - that Sprint Center is a site to behold, so if I'm lucky the beauty will distract me from the inclines...we'll see!
Hopefully, I'll be back in a couple of days with a play by play analysis of the race and some pictures. Wish me luck!
I'm also relieved and jazzed to have found a coffee shop around mile 18. It's a local roasting company, and though the place looks like a small restaurant, my sister was thinking it probably has some sort of counter service where I could pop in and grab my (soon to be a tradition) small, watered down, iced coffee to reward me for getting to 18 miles and to give me a boost of caffeine for the remaining 8.2 miles.
Pre-race drama: my family came up from Branson and are running the 5K portion of the race, and so there were some logistics to work about when to be at the starting line, where their hotel was and what time to wake up etc...normal stuff I suppose, but when you put us all in a room, we've all got our own answers, and it can get a bit tense to reach consensus. And then their was the tech support phone call I received about an error message from Apple when downloading a movie from iTunes. I told the caller to find an answer by Googling the error code (which is how I found the answer when the same problem happened to me) but there was no answer to be found. Just a bunch of message board posters complaining about how the same thing had happened to them. Bad form Apple! Basically what was supposed to be a relaxing movie night, turned into an hour plus of anxiety-ridden trouble shooting. Not a great way to spend a Friday night.
Despite the drama, I feel like I'm doing pretty good. Holding it together, not letting the drama distract me from being focused and relaxed. I'm looking forward to a fun race tomorrow, though most of it appears to be uphill. Still, I'll be running through some beautiful neighborhoods, and seeing some wonderful architecture - that Sprint Center is a site to behold, so if I'm lucky the beauty will distract me from the inclines...we'll see!
Hopefully, I'll be back in a couple of days with a play by play analysis of the race and some pictures. Wish me luck!
