June 15th - Let's get Grandma'd!!! (sp?)

Well, the packet pickup day had arrived.  We were staying at a cabin about 30 miles north of the start of the race, so we had to pass the course on the way down.  Luckily, the course was drivable, so we took the opportunity to become acquainted with it.  I'm glad we did!  It was encouraging to see that the hills were few and far between, and the scenery (right on the lake) was beautiful.  It was one of the items on our check list for the day.  Here's a few others:

Marathon Eve Day Checklist:

_X_Drive the Course
       - See above, check!
_X_Pick Up Our Packets
       - The experience with packet pickup was pretty intense.  The Duluth Convention Center was a flurry of activity - full of vendors, exhibits and people that are in much better shape than me!  I had to break out my number to set the mood:

           Timing chips checked out - we were ready to roll.
_X_Get Some Supplies for the Run
        - Nothing too major, we simply picked up some sunglasses (to replace my broken ones), a race belt for Erin, a hat for each of us, and a headband (for Erin).  That one wasn't so much for running the next day, as it was for the future.
_X_(Once back at the Cabin) Eat some Dinner, Pack, and get Ellie to Bed!
        - We had a good dinner of some pasta, some fish, watermelon and leftover soup.  It would do, pig... it would do...


Along with the packing, our vacation had effectively ended that night. We would need to pack up all of our clothes, possessions (and what not), get the car loaded, and clean the cabin before we could call it a night.  We had all of our stuff laid out for the next day; what we would be wearing, our race numbers, directions, timing chips on our shoes, food, water, etc - all ready to go.  We shipped Ellie off to the Grand Parentals so that we could get set up to go.  We probably got to bed around 10pm, but confident that we'd wake up the next morning (at 5am), toast a few waffles and hit the road with no major issues.

We.... were.... RIGHT!

I have to say, we were up and at em' the next morning, and all of the planning made everything go off without a hitch!  We made it to Two Harbors, MN at the shuttle parking lot, ate our breakfast, drank lots of fluids, hit the bathrooms and made the shuttle to the start line.  It was happening, but the energy was good and the pain hadn't set in yet.  Nothing left to do, but "it"!

Next up - the Race!!!

D