The Pre-Race Report

Today, I ran 13.1 miles. This was one of the best experiences of my life. It was such a long day but it was worth every minute of it. I learned a lot about myself and what my body is capable of today.

Yesterday was a really great pre-race day. I went to the expo with my mom and spent the evening relaxing at my apartment with the boyfriend. We made ravioli for dinner and I was asleep by 11:30.

I had my alarm set for 6:45 this morning but I woke up around 5:30 and had trouble falling back asleep after. I was pretty frustrated but I slept really well through the rest of the night so I wasn't too bothered by it.

I was super tired when my alarm finally went off this morning but I figured the race atmosphere would wake me up some. I put a bagel in the toaster, changed into my race clothes, washed my face, and got ready to leave. My dad came to pick me up right at 7:15 and we left soon after to head to the race.

Traffic was surprisingly not bad going into Baltimore. We struggled to find parking at first but then we found a garage nearby. We debated going to watch the start of the full marathon but decided to hang out inside the Convention Center instead. It was pretty cold outside so waiting inside was really nice.

Another major benefit of hanging out in the Convention Center was unlimited access to clean bathrooms. My stomach never cooperates in the morning, especially on race days so not having to frequent the porta potties was definitely a plus.

We decided to head over to the starting line at 9:15 for the 9:45 start. The first two waves went one direction and the last three went another. I was in the third wave which meant I got to watch the full marathon while waiting to start.

I hung out with my dad until the very end, which was really nice. I was so happy that he was there with me. I have a tendency to get overly nervous before races but he helped me stay calm today. It was starting to warm up a little then too, which made me glad I was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts.

We ended up starting about 15 minutes late but I wasn't too bothered by the time problem. Finally, around 10, we could start to the hear the announcer saying that our wave was about to start. He did a nice little countdown followed by a burst of confetti.

Soon, I found myself crossing the start line, getting mentally ready to run for the next two and a half hours...