Race Day Packing List (leave the anxiety at home)

Am I running a half-marathon this weekend? I’ve done the training, and I know we’ve mentioned it around these parts quite a bit, but other than that, I’m really unprepared. Friends are asking me what time I’m arriving, where I’m staying and I’m all “Hmmm. I should know the answers to these questions.” I wasn’t even sure what corral I was in, until last night.

If you know me well, you know this isn’t the norm. I’m a bit scattered- but I love to plan. I live for poring over details for things, again and again. Making lists, checking them twice. Sort of like Santa, but with better shoes.

I’m not sure what my deal is with this race, but I’m feeling mostly breezy about the whole thing. Perhaps it’s because I know it’s not going to be a PR moment for me. Sure, I’m going to try my best, but my current best is not so close to my overall best. For me, that eliminates a lot of race anxiety and pressure. It’s also an insane Saturday for me and my family; my husband has football tickets to his college’s homecoming game (Go Knights), and I’ll be working at our city’s craft show all morning; it’s the major fundraiser for my women’s service club. (A nap has been scheduled. Now who can I get to make me pancakes at 6am before I have to be at the show?) There’s been a lot of coordinating between us, the grandparents, and our babysitter to make sure we all get to do what we need to do. I have a lot on my mind! Finally, I’m just really excited to see my friends. My kids and I met up with Meri and her fam on Monday to travel around the world in EPCOT, and it was the best day I’ve spent at Disney in a long time. This Friday, I’m heading to the expo with Vic, and then the Wine & Scoot Chicks, plus some cool friends, will all meet on Saturday for some pre-race fun. So yeah. I’m thinking about a lot of stuff besides the race. And that’s okay. I’m sort of enjoying my lack of anxiety.

I started packing on Saturday, because I was cleaning my bedroom and thought- “why put this away if I’m just going to pack it in a suitcase in a few days?” Besides my costume and shoes, I had to think about my racing essentials. In no particular order…

1. My garmin. I switched to the Forerunner 10 when my 210 broke a few months back, and I absolutely love this watch.

2. My spibelt. I wear this so I can easily carry my fuel and my iphone.

3. Clif Shot- Mocha flavor. I had some trouble figuring out what would work best with my invisalign and this is tasty and gets the job done without getting stuck in my braces.

4. My iphone. Every blogger needs a camera and a twitter account at all times, right?

5. My ipod shuffle. I don’t normally run outside with music, but I think I’m running solo at this race. Music will be a good break from being inside my head! Usually, I run 7 or 8 miles of a half marathon without it, and then I blast my tunes for the homestretch.

6. My water bottle. I’m debating this because I hate water stops. They’re crowded and I always feel like I lose momentum. I also usually end up looking like I’ve entered a wet t-shirt contest. I don’t care for my current water bottle though so…maybe.

So, I’m packed and feeling good. The only thing I’m nervous about is running so late at night, because I’ve definitely become an early morning runner. I guess I should stay up late for the rest of the week. Who will entertain me on twitter?

What are your racing essentials? Should I bring a water bottle to the race? Are we following you on twitter? Leave me your twitter name!

9 thoughts on “Race Day Packing List (leave the anxiety at home)

  1. Racing essentials: my Yurbuds (best headphones ever), iPhone, and either Gu or Clif shots. This is new. I’d always been a chewy fuel person, but decided for the marathon I’m not going to be able to carry that much fuel, and since gels are usually on the course, I needed to learn to love them.

    Have an awesome race weekend!

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