Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Great 10k Adventure Part 2

Read Part 1

It's 4:00 AM, and I hear a strange sound. It drags me out of a deep sleep as I try to place what the noise is. I roll over and look at the clock and realize that it is the alarm going off. Why is it static instead of the radio station that was tuned in last night? I hit the snooze button and try to start the long process of waking up.

No more than 5 minutes go by, and another noise interrupts my attempt at slumber. This time I recognize the noise. It is the horribly annoying alarm on my boyfriend's watch. I once again roll over to face the night stand and this time turn on the light.

I lay with my face buried in the pillow until the snooze goes off and the static starts up again. I drag myself out of the bed, turn off the alarm, and stumble to the shower, where I probably stand for a full 10 minutes before I am even awake enough to bother with soap and shampoo.

I get out and dry off, and finally feel semi human. I can't decide what to wear. I don't know what the temperature is, and I don't know how warm it is supposed to get. I hem and haw and finally put on a pair of pants and a tank top to run in, along with a sweatshirt to keep me warm until the race.

I proceed with the rest of my pre-race necessities, gather my stuff, and we head out the door by 5:00 AM. We get to the car and I put my coat on over my sweatshirt. The intent was to eat a light breakfast at a Bob Evans that we had spied the previous evening. But apparently, normal people do not need breakfast prior to 6:00 AM, as this was the time they opened.

Deciding that we will not have enough time if we wait until they open, we head down the road toward the race. We spot a 7-11 that is open, and pull in. We spy some muffins and bananas, and grab some along with water. We sit in the car in the parking lot and eat our breakfast. I'm still only half awake. It is dark and cold, and I'm seriously considering just saying screw the race and heading back to the nice warm king size bed waiting back at the hotel.

We finish eating and head toward the race. We park the car in the school parking lot. It's 5:20 AM. It's still dark. It's still cold. I'm seriously questioning my sanity. Why exactly did I voluntarily sign up, and pay, to get up at the crack of dawn to torture myself with running a race that is farther than I've ran in months, and that I am doubting my ability to even finish without one of my various injuries kicking in and side lining me?

We sit in the car for a while, watching other racers begin filling up the parking lot. It slowly starts to get light. It's still freezing. I pin on my number, and dig out my garmin and mp3 player. We get out of the car and it takes everything I have to take my coat off. I still can't convince myself to remove my sweatshirt, but I have not come prepared with one I want to toss and leave behind. I like the one I am wearing; it is relatively new and it good shape. I would like to keep it.

We wander into the school and sit for a while on the bleachers, just watching other racers. It is 6:40 AM and our race starts at 7:15 AM. I can't believe all the marathoners still standing around as their race starts at 7:00, and they should be heading toward the starting line. My knee is actually hurting a little and it concerns me.

We make one final bathroom stop and head back outside. I still can't convince myself to remove my sweatshirt as it is just too damn cold. I tell myself that it is so cold I might be able to run with it the entire race.

We make our way to the start line and watch the marathoners take off. They head out and it is now our turn to line up at the starting line. Which we do, and we start the cold 15 minute wait until our race starts...

Read Part 3

2 comments:

  1. I hope you were able to stay warm.

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  2. Oh no I can't wait to read about the race.

    ReplyDelete