1 day... This is it!

Assuming all goes well, by this time tomorrow I should be in post-first marathon celebration mode! Hard to believe given all that has to happen between now and tomorrow afternoon.

I flew into AZ late last night, and this morning headed to the race expo to pick
up my race number, gear check bag, T-shirt, loads of free stuff, and of course
shopping for all of the marathon souvenirs you could ever hope for...

Marathon #5081- I was trying to think whether this was a 'good sounding' number. Hard question to answer... Given that it took me almost 2 years to get it--- it sure sounds good to me!

Running Girl is one of the most popular companies at the Expo. They have
all kinds of girlie fun running wear with funny sayings. Some of the favorites
Amanda and I found...

"I know I run like a girl, try to keep up"

I'm running my mass off!

And a few other favorites (not pictured).... "Running is cheaper than
therapy", "Running is my happy hour", "In my dreams I'm a Kenyan", 26.2 miles
and still smiling"...The cheesy girlie sayings never end and this shop.

So after getting loaded up with all the race gear I could manage...

...we went out for a stereoptypical pre-marathon pasta lunch, and then I went home to put myself together for the big day tomorrow.

Several of my spectators asked that I p0st pictures of what I'll be wearing
tomarrow. Apparently there is some concern that I may not immediately stand
out in a crowd of 36,000 other runners...go figure.

So, this is what you're looking for tomorrow... Black shorts, Long sleeve white top or sleeveless bright blue top (depending on the temperature), and a white hat. #5081, and I'll be wearing a name tag too. Which I first was unsure of---seemed a bit cheesy, but every marathon veteran I've talked to has said DO IT! Strangers will cheer for you if you have your name on your shirt. If you don't, they'll cheer for you and make up a name... "Go white hat"... As long as there are strangers generous enough to help cheer me on for 26.2 miles- I'll take the risk of looking cheesy and wear the name tag!

The starting line outfit...

The transition when things start to heat up...

The nearly final stage of heat tolerance...And if things get really bad, I may end up in just black shorts and a sports bra. However I elected to stop posting pictures of outfits at this point because I don't want people to be confused as to just what type of I blog I'm running here! lol

By the way-- if you plan on being along the race course at some point
tomorrow, please let me know so I know to look for you! I want to be sure to get
pictures of everyone who comes out-- so do whatever it takes to get my attention
if I'm in a running zone.... throwing fruit snacks, bananas, pretzels or
Gatorade at me would be particularly helpful! :)

And a special thank you again to all of my race sponsors who came through to
help raise money for Susan's foundation. I'll be running with you all the way,
and I'm really looking forward to reading your messages!

And a special thanks to my mom for creatively figuring out how to fit all those names on my shirt!