October 26, 2008

Pre-race jitters (yes, Lam, I have them too)

You are all probably going to be saying “I told you so” if this race doesn’t go well, but I’m putting this all out here now because I don’t want to seem like I’m making excuses if it really sucks.

I already wrote about the cookie issue. To top off yesterday’s poor nutrition, I didn’t get much sleep last night. Last night, Boyfriend didn’t get out of work till 11 PM, which meant I didn’t even get to his place until midnight. We stayed up until about 2 AM, and I got up at 6:30 to fly out for the race. I don’t know which of those issues it is (nutrition or not enough sleep), but I’ve felt like crap all day. Really tired and really low energy. I actually fell asleep during the inspirational speech by John Stanton (I did stay awake for Kathrine Switzer, and got to meet her and talk to her and get an autographed copy of her book – that was the one good thing about my day. To pessimistically turn it around though, I had forgotten my camera and was pissed).

The weather in Niagara Falls didn’t help – it was pouring rain all morning (hard enough that I had trouble with visibility driving from Buffalo to Niagara Falls), and it was also just a bit cold. These things put me in a bad enough mood that when anything little went wrong, it just sucked more. The only major annoyance was the pasta party, where the sauce-to-pasta ratio was so ridiculously low that it made the pasta have almost no flavor. Don’t worry, I still chowed down on enough to give myself a stomachache, because my willpower sucks. I feel better now though and think I’ll be okay stomach-wise tomorrow morning.

On the brighter side, I didn’t touch any cookies today. I was pretty glad that Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies weren’t at the expo like they are for all the races on the West Coast – even though just the thought of cookies is sickening to me right now, I probably would have still eaten them and then regretted it. I did indulge in a little bit of frozen yogurt (I know, dairy = bad, but it really was just a little bit) at the expo because they invented some new high protein froyo for runners. Sadly, it’s only sold in Canada, though they’re trying to get it down to the US.

I have no idea what I’m aiming for as a goal time tomorrow. 4:20 is a good standby goal, because that was my approximate time for the last three marathons I did all in a row, but this course is supposed to be really flat and fast and a good BQ, and it’s my first marathon in two weeks so my legs shouldn’t be too tired. On the other hand, I haven’t done a long run since Hartford, and lately when I’ve been doing my short runs in the cold, I’ve been having trouble getting used to that cold-air-choking-you-in-the-back-of-your-throat sensation. Plus, the forecast still totally sucks:
Windy with showers and thundershowers. High 53F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 MPH. Chance of rain 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 MPH.
Yucky. Please note that the course runs northeast, so those 40 MPH winds will be in our faces and not at our backs. I hope I can stay warm and dry and keep moving forward.

Finally, when I asked at the front desk for late checkout, they said they could only do it if I paid $100. I said that was ridiculous, and then they noticed that I had elite status, so they offered that I could stay until noon but after that would charge me $100. Too bad the race doesn’t start till 10 AM so I’ll only be at mile 12 or so by noon – not too helpful! I’m going to try asking once more in the morning, but it looks like I’ll be passing on the post-race shower and just heading to the airport sweaty (though I will make sure to at least change into warm dry clothes). Yummy.

In brighter news, though I didn’t get to meet up with Marci at the pasta dinner, she just called and we’re going to try to meet up to take the bus to the start – hopefully it works out! I can’t wait to meet her and her husband 🙂 That just put me in a good mood, so I’m going to bed while it lasts.

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18 thoughts on “Pre-race jitters (yes, Lam, I have them too)”

  1. Good luck tomorrow! Also, ask and see if they have a hospitality room or a shower at the pool or fitness room you could use. We’ve done that in the past when we’ve not been able to get a late checkout.

    MCM Mama

  2. Yep, I’ll echo MCMM’s suggestion. We travel for frisbee a lot, and the hotels have always been willing to let our 20 to 40 sweaty teenagers get clean some way or another before they get on the plane. OTOH, it’s a pretty short flight, right? So maybe not worth it.

    Have a great time. Remember your goals, keep your chin up and enjoy!

  3. I know you won’t see this till after the race, but good luck! And the hotel people are jerks. It’s not like they probably have a lot of people waiting for your room on Sunday afternoon! Oh well, I have found that changing out of sweaty clothes into dry clothes goes a long way toward making up for lack of a shower! 🙂

  4. Can’t believe anyone who runs weekly marathons can have jitters! You? No way!

    Hope the weather clears up for you tomorrow AM. Believe it or not, I’m supposed to be volunteering at the Poland Springs Marathon Kickoff race in CP tomorrow morning…so will be thinking of you as I’m handing out water!

    Good luck with the race.

  5. Good luck!! And I’m sure you’ll be able to find a shower for after the race. Seriously – is that hotel so busy that they can’t spare one room? 🙂 But if can’t find one – just sport your finishers metal on the place and I’m sure everyone will understand!

  6. Good hunting tomorrow!!

    24 full hours between cookies and race should work I would think. 🙂

    10am start really. That seems late to me… I guess you’re going to have to run like an elite to avoid the extra fee. 🙂

  7. Sorry to hear yesterday didn’t go so well. Hope you’re having a great race right now!!

    They shouldn’t give you a hard time with late check-out. How many people are checking in on a Sunday late afternoon?

  8. Aw, all those things definitely suck. I hope you felt better this morning and were able to start off the race happy.

    I can’t wait to read the report. 40 MPH wind gusts? I prefer to be inside with that kind of weather! So kudos to you for sticking with it!

  9. I cannot wait to read your post race report soon. Been thinking of several bloggers like you who are participating in marathon today (and also Marine Corp Marathon in DC). Hope the weather was good today!

  10. Great job today. It really helped me to see you at 37K, I was struggling, but I pushed myself to hang on for the PR. I also wanted to mention -Philly is sold out, but last year, my friend wrote the RD and asked if she could still register, and she was allowed. Maybe make up something about your Marathon Maniac status or something!

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