So, the flight out here was fantastic! It was the first time I've ever flown with Southwest and had a seat empty. In fact, almost all of the middle seats were empty! There were about a dozen of us "marathoners" on the plane, so it was fun to chat with others that had experience during the stop over in Panama City. I arrived early in O-Town (9:10 instead of 9:25), and made it to my parents' house without any problems. The hardest part was winding down to sleep. I'm thinking it will continue to be a problem until Sunday night...
Mom & I had a fantastic day of "girl time" together. We went to the Expo at Wide World of Sports to get me signed in and to pick up my race packet with "stuff" (my race bib, my chip for my shoe, my commemerative pin, and my free ticket to Disney on Monday that I won't use because I have to fly home). I took my shoes with me so I could put my chip on my shoe. I was a total dork, and I literally sat down on the floor in front of a monitor that showed how to put the chip on and got mine on the shoe. I then walked through the "chip checker" to make sure it worked, and I was set. I'm sure a lot of the veteran runners will be laughing with their buddies about the nerd who put her chip on in front of God & everyone, but I don't care. :)
Once I got checked in, we walked over to the "expo" part to get my "race bag" (complete with a neat long-sleeved shirt with "Disney Marathon" picture on the front & sponsors on the back and LOTS of handouts, which went promptly to the trash). They had a board that I was able to sign that I wrote a note to Kylee telling her that this was for her and that I miss her & love her. Then we got my bag, looked around the expo and bought two shirts (short-sleeved Marathon shirt & long-sleeved for the race) for me and some PowerBars. We then found a kiosk from HP that took my picture with my race bib & a picture of "my castle" that I could e-mail & print for free. That was a real treat! Then we stopped at a booth that asked why we were racing, and I put down that I was racing for Kylee and to raise money for her kids. I'm just so thankful for all of the supportive words & money that have come in!
After the Expo, Mom & I headed out for lunch at Mimi's Cafe, then to do some shopping. A few hours later, we found ourselves back at the house with some extra bags with us. I got cleaned up and had the chance to go to dinner with my friend Jenn and my cousin Hillary. We had some hibatchi Japanese food and then headed out to a sports bar to watch the LSU vs. Texas A&M game and to chat some more. Then, our friend Mike met up with us there to catch up and watch the game with us as well. I had a great time! Adult conversation and football--a perfect combination! :)
Now, I'm getting my bag ready to stay at the Wilderness Lodge tonight, and then it's off to visit with some more friends & family members, more shopping (James' birthday is Thursday & he specifically requested "Disney Toy Story" stuff), dinner at Macaroni Grill so I can "carb load" to my cute little heart's content, and hopefully a fairly early bedtime. A part of me still can't believe it's already time to do this, but another part feels ready to go. I want to do my best to honor Kylee's memory and to finish strong. At this point, I've done everything I can to get ready. It's just time for RACE DAY!!
Until next time...
