I just got back from picking up my packet for the Evansville Half Marathon. This year the Expo was held at Vectren downtown instead of The Centre, which is just a couple buildings away from where I work. I always look forward to seeing what goodies and freebies they give us for races. This year, they did not disappoint!
Here’s what we got: 1) Race bib (mine has a special “Team 13″ sticker on it since I trained in the Y program called “13 Weeks to 13 Miles”) 2) The commemorative race shirt (white instead of gray this year…a little disappointed that it wasn’t a little more different than last year’s) 3) Cool Gear Little Chill (water bottle with a freeze stick in the middle to keep your beverage cold…love it!) 4) Lanyard with detachable piece for keys 5) Koozie with the half marathon logo for cans of soda 5) A cell-phone case you can attach to your clothing (loving this since you never know what can happen on long runs) 6) A card with pace times (I’m shooting for an 8:30 mile pace this year which will put me just over 1:51…a lofty goal, I know) 7) Aquaphor (I didn’t know why they put this in our packets last year, but now I know…CHAFING! Definitely using it this year.) 8 ) Biofreeze (for achy muscles) 9) Lip balm (from the Courier & Press…my other employer) 10) A pen 11) Tons of coupons to local places 12) Free copy of Evansville Living
Getting free stuff makes me excited, but the best part is picking up my bib number. It makes the race so real now. This year, they’re testing two different timing methods of timing. The first is the IPICO Sportag, which is a little, flat chip (kind of like a small credit card is the best way I can describe it) that you put on your shoe. We had a chip on our shoe last year, but it was much different than this year’s. The second is the J-Chip. I’m not too excited about this one. It is sealed inside a plastic slip that is then attached to your bib. It’s a little weighty and I’m not sure how they plan on detaching it after the race is over. Plus, my “Team 13″ sticker is over it, so I don’t know how they plan on taking the chip out without destroying the sticker, which will get me into a special hospitality tent after the race. We’ll see.
I was a little worried earlier this week when the weather was forecasted to be in the upper 80s, but with a chance of storms all day. I prayed for a change, and I got my prayer answered. Except not how I wanted. Now, it’s going to be a high of 91 (in October…what the heck??) with no rain. The rain is supposed to hold off until Monday, so that means Sunday will be extremely humid. Fun.
But, I’ve been drinking a lot of water all week, loading up on carbs, getting good rest, and not going hard on my runs, so I’m praying for the best. I plan on drinking lots of water and Gatorade along the race and I even picked up some Gu at the Expo today. I’m going to test it out on my short, easy run tonight to make sure it doesn’t make me sick. The guy who sold it to me suggested I eat some 15 minutes before the race and then at least once during. I got vanilla, tri-berry, strawberry-banana and orange; a good variety. I also plan on pouring some water over myself throughout the race to make sure I don’t get too hot.
My parents will get in either tonight or early tomorrow morning for the race and my pre-birthday weekend. Tomorrow is a full-rest day, so I might just lounge around and watch movies all day with them. In the evening, I’m getting together with some of my running friends for a dinner at Fazoli’s (although I’ve read that you are actually supposed to carbo load the most on the two days before the race).
In addition to my parents, a bunch of my friends from church will be there, as well. I’m just astonished at how much support they’ve all shown me. It’s very flattering. Of course, my biggest supporter will be there as well…Tyler has been such a doll through all of this. I get home late when I do the training during the week and wake him up early on Saturdays for the long runs and he hasn’t complained once. His parents will likely show up to support me, too. I have such great people in my life!
Hopefully, I’ll finish standing up this year instead of passed out, and without a trip to the emergency room. So I should be done no later than 10 a.m. on Sunday. You can check the race results here; my bib number is 1141. Say a prayer for me!
