Marathon Training: The Evening Before the Big (BIG!) Race
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As you know, I ran the Inaugural Missoula Marathon back in 2007 – the whole 26.2 miles during the hottest summer on record. I know the temps were in the 90’s and I believe it got up to like 102 degrees F that day.
The night before the race I was both excited and nervous. I don’t know why I get so nervous before a race, because I go in with no expectations of winning…so why the nerves?
I guess it’s probably more accurately described as nervous energy. And I’m glad I can still get that way before a race. The raw energy of the other runners, the loud music vibrating and thumping at the starting area, the anticipation, and the cheers of the crowds as the cannon goes off gets my blood pumping. All these things piled together at 6 in the morning would make anyone excited and nervous!
So the night before my full marathon I tried on my race day outfit: I was trying to decide which hat to wear. Should I wear the red “Runner’s Edge” one, or the gray Missoula Marathon running hat I just bought that day? When in doubt, I ask T. She is always a good sport, and I trust her fashion sense…and besides that, she has her eyesight. I live my life with the philosophy that it’s always good to have at least one person around who can actually see. 
She said the red one looked better. Then I had to decide which wrist sweat bands should I wear? I had gotten both light blue and red. We decided the red was better, as the light blue wasn’t the right color of blue to coordinate with my running top. We pinned my race number on my shirt: there, I was now set with my clothes.
Now I had to get ready all the stuff I was going to take with me. I got out the clip-on pocket I was going to use. It wasn’t the most ideal thing, as it was not really designed for running. Since this was my first long race, I wanted to bring everything I thought I might need with me.
Looking back at it, it wasn’t really necessary, but life’s all about learning…so I learned. But this was my first marathon, and I wanted the security of having all my stuff with me. So I packed the pocket. I had my Lifesavers, Chap Stick, extra batteries for my MP3 player, tissue, two Power Bar gels, and looped through the side: an extra pair of sunglasses. The sunglasses were different shades which help me with different lighting conditions.
When I picked up my fully packed pocket, I was a bit concerned with how much it weighed, but since I wasn’t ready to leave any of it, for now it would have to do.
I was still undecided about taking my MP3 player with me, so I laid it out as well. I also had my flasher and cell phone. Hmmmm, I was going to be really loaded down – maybe I was a bit out of control! Oh well…
With a 6:30 a.m. start I wanted to be up by 4:30 as we had to drive about 20 miles to the start of the race, and after six or seven months of training for this thing, I wanted to be sure I was fully prepared and didn’t forget anything. I did manage to go to bed early, but with the heat, sleep was hard to come by. I did manage to get some sleep, but it was a fitful night.
Stay Tuned…More Fun Coming!
How ’bout it?
-Vision Runner
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Title: Marathon Training: The Evening Before the Big (BIG!) Race
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Tags: Inaugural Missoula Marathon, marathon training program, Missoula Marathon, running hat, running shirt, running top
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on Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 4:06 am and is filed under Montana, Running, Vision Stories.
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August 14th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Wow – you sounds like you need to put so much stuff in the stroller for you to push around. I cannot wait to read the next post. I am sure you know now what you can bring for the next race.
September 10th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
A stroller? Now there’s an idea for me!!