Panic and Packing

I did a silly little thing by trying to be prepared and look at the Whidbey Island race website...I looked at last year's results. Last year just 384 finished the marathon and over 1,400 the half. What does this mean? This race is VERY small. Well, much smaller than the marathons I'm used to running. I'll admit, there's some comfort in getting lost in the sea of 10-20,000 other runners at races like the San Diego Rock n Roll, Nashville 1/2 and full marathon, Portland, etc. But come Sunday, less than 500 will most likely be making the trek of 26.2 and that makes me very visible. Yikes. Moving on...

Packing is going slowly, but surely as always. How hard do you find it to pack for a race? Cuz it's probably my biggest challenge (beyond maybe the 4-5 months of training). I agonize over which pants/top combo I'll want to wear race day and end up packing 3+ outfits JUST IN CASE. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to have options, but it makes packing neverending. I mean, what if it rains (but it's warm, cold, windy out)? Will I wear shorts and a long sleeve? Capris and a tech shirt? Spandex pants and long sleeve? My mood and the forecast on race day will answer that one.

Well, my bag's full but not complete, the Garmin is charging, and the stick (a runner's favorite massage tool) is packed. It's time to hit the hay. Happy running and weekend y'all! I'll have a full race report and some photos if you're lucky, next week. Here's hoping I feel as happy during Whidbey Island as I did during my first marathon, Portland, in 2006.