Picking up from yesterday –
I gave myself a full day in Ohio to prep. I learned from my first marathon that taking the red eye and going straight into racing does not feel good. Learning. Changing. Flying a day early. *pats self on back*
Once I got there Friday morning, I headed to a sporting goods store. I was concerned, okay, pretty super concerned, about the weather. Aye, aye, aye, the weather.
I’ve become pretty cold-blooded living in Los Angeles. Oh how I used to make fun of the silly, silly Los Angelinos who got cold in what would be considered a nice day (and shorts weather) in New York. I hate to admit this, but I’m one of them now. *falls to the ground admitting* – I’m weak!
The forecast had the race taking place in the 40s. The 40s! Do you know the last time I’ve experienced weather in the 40s? I’m genuinely trying to think about it, it might’ve been in my Oklahoma City trip. The point is, it doesn’t happen often. It certainly doesn’t happen often that I’m hanging out outdoors for hours on end in that kind of weather.
I didn’t even truly know what all I needed to get. So, I just got a bunch of stuff – some Under Armor base layers, more layers on top of that, hand warmers, foot warmers – all that jazz.
I also got a sweet duffel bag, as I didn’t think a bookbag was quite going to cut it for a race of this magnitude.
I got some good ol’ Shot Bloks, and a Clif Bar. I grabbed a Gatorade and a huge thing of water. I did not want to forget anything.
I even got a headband and some cool neon bracelets – as that stuff was required by Spartan. (I was a very good girl and read through all the paperwork. I was a little stressed about it all, as you can tell, and wanted to make sure I got everything right.
The night before the race, I packed up my new duffel bag in a very organized fashion – a place for snacks, one for night stuff, one for warmth stuff, and then in the main portion I put in way more clothes than I thought I would ever use. (Spoiler alert: I was totally wrong. I used more than I expected.) I also threw some towels in there.
Then I had a separate bookbag kept in the car with a post-race outfit, an additional post-race Gatorade, kind bars and all that stuff – something to be waiting for me after I rummaged through my bag check bag all day.
And this is where I’ll pick up next time.