‘Twas The Night Before Race Night

We made it to DC!

The bus ride took a bit longer than expected, but with good company I was plenty entertained. Also with a camera and an iPhone.

After arriving in DC, our first stop was to the hotel to check in, then straight to the race expo which was pretty underwhelming.

The expo was held at the DC Armory, which is right next to RFK Stadium — it’s also where the race starts tomorrow morning.

Naturally the best part of the expo was meeting new friends!

Above that’s Theodora, Anne, Megan, Ashley, yours truly and Tina.

After the expo Theodora, Ashley, Theodora’s friend Tamsin and I all grabbed a small bite to eat at a pub before Ashley and I headed back to the hotel to lay down for a bit.

As soon as we had digested our late lunch, it was time for the next meal!

Ashley and I hit up Carmine’s for a carb-filled dinner.

The photo is dark, but you get the point, right? Pasta. Lots of pasta. Also some broccoli, shrimp and tomatoes. But mostly delicious pasta and a bread basket.

I’m now sufficiently full and starting to get really excited about tomorrow’s race. The course is mostly flat and though the weather will be chilly, the sun should come out eventually.

And did I mention the cherry blossoms are in full bloom? It’s going to be gorgeous running past the monuments and the trees.

I have all my race day gear laid out, charged and ready to go when my alarm goes off slightly before 5 am.

I’m in my pajamas and ready to get some serious sleep, but before I turn in, some final thoughts before I run my heart out:

• I hope my stomach cooperates tomorrow. May everything digest properly and not cause me any problems. That’s probably my biggest race day concern.
• I feel confident with my training. Though some of my long runs were brutal, many of them were awesome. I know I’m prepared to run this race.
• I’m thrilled that I already accomplished one of my race goals. I survived months of training injury free.
• I’m really excited about my race day playlist. (Here it is, in case you missed it earlier today.)
• I really hope I hit my second goal (finishing in under 2 hours), but I know that if I don’t, that’s OK, too. There will be more races.

Lastly, I want to thank you all so much for your support going into tomorrow’s race. I’ve been overwhelmed with nice emails, texts and Tweets all day sending well wishes and I’m so grateful.

I’m not sure when I’ll blog next, but I’ll be sure to Tweet when I finish tomorrow (about 12 hours from now!). Follow me at @AliOnTheRun1.

Time for some power sleeping!

Good luck to all of the runners tomorrow — in DC, in other races and on streets, treadmills and tracks everywhere. May your runs be fast, furious and fun.