Pre Race Rituals - Boulder Half Marathon

I got up 3:30 this morning so that I could catch the first flight out of Portland back to Denver, given that this is actually the same as my normal wake up time (4:30 Mountain time) it shouldn't have been a big deal. But it was a big deal because for some crazy reason I couldn't sleep and banked a total of two hours of sleep, I am not going to make that up before race day Sunday.

After dragging myself out of bed and my parents graciously driving me to the airport at that hour I grabbed a quick Starbucks breakfast.skinny caramel macchiato and a fruit and yogurt parfait. Notice the cup says Mary, this is my "real" name but I have always gone by Beth, I have no idea why I told her my name was Mary, maybe because it was on the debit card I was handing her? Normally I forget that my given name is Mary, I guess weird things happen when I try to communicate at 4 am.

My flight was easy and my sweet husband was waiting for me right outside of security, thanks babe!

We decided to go straight to Boulder to pick up our race packets from Fleet Feet Sports. Fleet Feet is a tiny running/triathlon store in Boulder. It seemed like a nice store but it was a little crowded with the packet pickup inside as well. I received my packet without a hitch but I entered Cory's birth date incorrectly when I signed him up(oops!) so the race officials had to look him up, but they easily got him everything he needed and we were headed home.

Our race packet included some great stuffincluding:

• tech t-shirt
• reusable grocery bag
• pint glass
• poster
• a few samples
• chip timing

There is also a finishers medal, full lunch and a beer garden with complimentary beer =)

After we got home I took a quick nap and cuddled with my dogs and hubby that I have missed so much before starting to get ready for my race tomorrow.Winston riding along in his car seat.

Do you have pre-race rituals that you follow?

I don't have any particular rituals, I just take it easy a few days before hand, try to gets lots of sleep and drink a lot of fluids. I have failed miserably on all accounts.

Only thing left to do is get my stuff ready for the morning, set my alarm, go to bed early and hope for the best.