4:39:06

Ok...so I am horrible at uploading photos, and even though I did them in order they uploaded out of order...not sure how to fix it, but I'm sure you can all figure out the progression! These are just from my cell phone (hence the bad quality) but I still have two cameras to upload pics from tomorrow or the next day.

So Kate (my best friend, bib 1217 above) arrived from Florida at 8:45 Friday night. We headed back to my house (about an hour drive) and after much discussion over whether it was really in our best interest to have a couple of drinks, decided that we don't see eachother often enough and picked up some beer. I had rented Run Fatboy, Run for marathon inspiration, so we watched that, chatted, and worked our way through three beers each and about a box of Cheez Its...(oops). We were in bed by midnight, though, and didn't get up until 9 so we still got plenty of rest.

In the morning we started hydrating (something that is very difficult for me to remember on the weekend) and got all of our stuff together for the marathon. Kate hadn't ever used any nutrition while running (actually she only ran about 10 times in the last 6 months and never over 4 miles, but that's another story!) so we stopped by the local running store. She was scared of gels, so she picked up some Sports Beans and waist pack to carry her phone and beans in. We headed to the airport to pick up my parents and then met Lauren (striking her running pose above) at the expo around 2:30.

The expo was really lacking. :( No free samples, so we left fairly quickly after getting our packets and checking our timing chips. It was nice and organized, however, and took no time at all. We checked in to our hotel and then met up with my parents for a snack (fried crab claws and chips and salsa with quacamole...hmmm maybe not the best choice?) and yes, a couple of beers. Hell- I only get visitors here and there, and I'm obviously not breaking any records this time around so I figured I may as well enjoy myself. Then we drove part of the course to see where they would try to see us, and they dropped us off at our hotel around 5:30.

We got some things organized, then headed out for dinner around 6. There was a sushi place right across the street, so we figured rice and soy sauce = carbs and salt, and headed over there. I did avoid eating anything raw, just to be safe, but did do a little more carb loading via Asahi. We went back to the hotel just in time to catch Bring It On: All or Nothing on TV...bonus! We turned off the lights around 9. I, of course, couldn't sleep. I imagine I drifted off around 12, but my husband called at 2 am (what is wrong with you??) to wish us luck. Finally back to sleep, and then the alarm at 4:45 am.

I wasn't feeling as great as I had hoped...I ate two packs of oatmeal, stretched, and tried to calm down. I was tired and kind of off in the stomach, but luckily the female problem didn't arise, which was a bonus. I had some coffee and (thank god!) was able to use the bathroom, so that was one thing I wouldn't have to stress about during the race. We left the hotel at 6:30 and headed to the start.

Luckily our hotel was only a quarter mile away, so we got there quickly and checked our bags. Another bonus (at least at the start) was that it was warm enough to ditch our long sleeves before checking bags. I new this could spell trouble for later, but I was glad to not have anything to take off while running. We lined up (with 5kers and walkers of course in the way regardless of the announcements from the race director...grrr...) and at 7 am we were off!

More later on the race itself and more pics!