On Friday Morning I woke up anxious. I thought to myself, 'ok, today is going to be stressful.' The days leading up to Friday alternated from feeling like I was going to throw up to excited beyond words. I accepted that I would have to deal with the nerves and went to work. Fortunately, I was able to leave the office early, so I had time to get my nails painted in festive blue and yellow and make it into the city to meet my friends at the expo. After parking my car, I walked to the Hynes Convention Center, had my bag checked and made my way up the escalator. The energy in the building was electric. As I made it to the second floor I started to feel uneasy. There were so many people. I was incredibly uncomfortable. Just as soon as I arrived, I turned around and walked out of the building for some air. This happens from time to time. I have never been someone to shy away from a crowd, but since last April, I occasionally become overwhelmed in crowded spaces, especially when alone. I walked out onto Boylston Street and down to Newbury. I was taking in the sights and sounds of the city and waiting for my friends to arrive. Fortunately, that didn't take long. We picked up our numbers, snapped a few pictures and made our way through the vendor areas where everyone spent more money than they had planned to.
Saturday was the Race for Rehab pre-race party at the Revere Hotel. Kudos to my friends Lindsay and Sara for putting on such a great event. It was nice to compare notes with my fellow teammates on how we were feeling and I was also able to catch up with Ernst van Dyk, the 10-time winner of the Boston Marathon wheelchair division. Kevin Spacey even came to our party! How cool is that? Saturday was an excited day and included the feeling of 'I just want to get the show on the road!'
Sunday, ohhhh Sunday. Talk about being nervous. I was beginning to doubt myself. Was I actually capable of running 26.2 miles? HELL NO! No one should run that far, at least thats what I kept telling myself. I was reviewing everything that people told me: don't eat anything different before the race, make sure you stay off your feet on Sunday, don't drink too much water, drink enough water and my favorite, no matter what stay horizontal. There was so much to think about and remember. I started to call, text and e-mail every single person in my running support system and asked (I'm sure) what they thought were ridiculous questions. Their responses all had the same theme "you know what you're doing Amanda, its just another long run." Another long run? No. This was the big show. The Super Bowl of my regular season games. How could they all be so calm? I was a mess! I made a list of everything I needed for Monday and set it out on my kitchen counter. Socks? Check! Sport beans? Check! Food? Check! Skratch? Check! The list went on. When I finally felt like I had everything I needed, I got into bed around 8PM, prepared to not sleep for more than a minute. Monday morning would come quickly.
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