Cleveland or Bust- Pre Race Jitters

In my previous post I failed to mention the fact that on the bus ride from the expo I got super nervous. Anytime I would think about the race my stomach would flip. What is it about the race that adds all that pressure? During my training runs, even the 20 miler, I never got nervous. It must be because all I have been thinking about for sixth months was that date and that race and now it was finally here! After Rob and I got settled in our hotel room we decided to head over to some shops across the street from the hotel. An Indians game had just let out so the place was a bit crowded and apparently this was a popular spot to take wedding photographs so we saw lots of wedding parties throughout the afternoon.

 

Our hotel!

 

The Hyatt Arcade offered one free boxed breakfast to each of the race participants. This was a total surprise since they didn't advertise this anywhere I can remember. I thought it was really cool because I have had a bagel before every single training run and I was really adamant about trying to get one for race morning. My Dad and I went down to get them with our tickets and by the time we arrived in the lounge Dad's ticket had disappeared! Somewhere between our rooms and the lounge it had managed to fall off, so we retraced our steps and it was nowhere to be found. We even did this funny elevator stunt to try and get back on the same exact elevator we had rode down. The people walking by probably thought we were weird. The good news was, I still got my boxed breakfast and it came with a bagel! Sorry Pops!

 

 

It was too early for the pasta dinner, and it was too nice out not to explore the city, but Dad and I didn't want to do a lot of walking. We decided instead of just sitting around the hotel getting antsy that we would drive some of the course. We followed one of the maps and only made a few wrong turns, overall it did seem really flat and most of the parts of the course we drove were shaded. Notice I said "that we drove". Bad foreshadowing. We wound up traveling the first half of the course. While we were out Dad needed to put gas in the car and I thought this was ironic...

 

 

Once we returned back to the hotel we had about ten minutes until the pasta dinner would open and they set it up in the atrium of the hotel. It is such a neat and historic hotel.

 

Even though the pasta dinner was pricey it was right in the hotel, they had a lot of variety, the food was great and you could eat as much as you wanted.

 

I didn't want to over do it and pay for it in the morning, so I had a nice helping and then went back up for a little more. Some of the elites were sitting at the table across from us and I have never seen so much pasta and so many rolls piled high with such a skinny person holding the plate. Let the record show that I also skipped dessert, that never happens. Ever.

 

After we finished I went to our room to get all of my stuff laid out, fill my water bottles and attach my race bib. Leading up to the race I had read a blog post from one of the official Cleveland bloggers about getting different bags ready for before, during and after. I decided I would make one bag that I would want during the race and then at the finish line. I also would throw an extra bottle of Gatorade in it. My parents said they were happy to hold on to the bag and have it with them when they would see me. Remember that nugget of info for the next post.

 

Once everything was organized, Rob and I went to hang out in my parents room for a short bit and then we turned in early. I never sleep well the night before a race. This time I know I slept, but my mind was on and running the entire night. I would wake up here and there and couldn't remember if I had just been awake or asleep. It was kinda weird.