Packing for the #TCSNYCMarathon

Friday morning, the hubs and I are hopping on a plan and flying north for my grandest adventure yet: the NYC Marathon. I'm not gonna lie, I'm terrified. Not about finishing, no. To quote my 17 year old son "let's be real mom, you know you're gonna finish." And he's right. I will finish. The IT  band issues I've been having definitely changed my goals. That's not it either.

It's all the things I cannot control. Sorry boys, but it's almost TTOM. Seriously. Because running for 6 or possibly 7 hours through NYC isn't challenging enough. I'm an emotional wreck as well. Every little thing makes me cry. Oh, and my allergies are acting up. What if I get sick?

And so it goes.

Four more days. Leaving in two days. More like a day and a half now. So I've been packing all week. I have lists. Very serious lists. Dress for Tea at the Plaza with my daughter and her bestie. Dress and sneakers for our Team MDA dinner on Saturday night. Clothes for in between. Let's not even forget race day. Yikes.

So I will break it down for you now. I've packed for dozens of races and race-cations, so I'm kind of a pro. 

The first thing I always pack is my race day outfit. Soup to nuts. This goes in your carry on. Let me say that again. Every single thing you need to wear on race day goes in your carry on. Why? Luggage gets lost. I've never had that happen to me, but many have. You can replace your day to day clothes,  but not your race day clothes. I won't even think of the chafing that would occur. :::cringing:::

I packed this last week. Seriously. I wanted to be sure I had my favorite sports bra, and all of my accessories went in today. Last night I tried on my dress for the Sophisticated Sneaker Team Dinner. The lighting stinks, but I'm going to look so cute! 

Next came the extra clothes for the plane ride and expo, for after the race on Sunday, and for Monday when I'm achey and have to get back on the plane. I printed out my pace bands for all of my goals... A, B, and C. 

A. Finish in 6 to 6.5 hours

B. Finish under 7 hours

C. Finish. Period.

I grabbed some KT tape, and my compression band for my IT Band. I bought snacks for the hubs to carry for me.... Twizzler bites and pretzel sticks.

I packed my Oofos for after the race, so I can take my sneakers off after I finish. 

I printed out the mini guide that NYRR has on their website. 

Oh, and let's not forget the throw away clothes for before the race. I plan to look super stylish. I have some super sexy sweats from the men's department at Walmart. It's on, y'all. 

I water proofed my sneakers and packed ponchos becaus for one brief moment they were predicting rain. I packed a Mylar sheet to sit on in the village. 

I think I'm ready. Which means I'll add twenty more things to our bags before we go. And that's ok. 

Because it's New York City.

And...

I'm about to go there...

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere.....