The wheels on the bus go round n’ round….

Yesterday was spent largely in the reclining seats of the team charter bus, on a 4-hour trek to sunny Tucson, Arizona! About half of the track team, including distance runners, sprinters, jumpers and throwers started Spring Break a day early to make our way to the desert and heat for today’s track meet – the Willie Williams Invitational hosted by University of Arizona. Temperatures are rising to the 90s today, but luckily my 5k race will be under the lights at 7:30 p.m.

Before sitting on the bus for hours, I did a nice 30 minute run, finishing at Target to stock up on snacks for the weekend. After reading our itinerary for the meet, I learned that we would be ordering pizzas for dinner the night of my race, and ham-on-white-bread for lunch the next day. (Obviously my coach is not a nutritionist…) These aren’t exactly my idea of “fuel food” so I made sure get a post-race protein bar, plenty of bananas, apples, and oranges, some oatmeal and cereal cups, and pretzels. I did not train my butt off these last 2 months to splurge on greasy, cheesy pizza the day of my race.

Oh hey, desert sunset!

Once we checked into the hotel, the team piled back into the bus for a shakeout run at Pima Community College. Gotta get that blood flowing! By then, it was getting close to sunset. It must have been the most beautiful time to run in the desert; the mountains and cactuses (cacti?) looked gorgeous and I could’ve gone a few more miles if it weren’t a recovery day!

After the run, the one thing on a bus full of athletes mind: FOOD. Since dinner was just at a mall food court, there was some major variety among the team’s dining choices. From burritos at Chipotle to Dairy Queen blizzards, it was definitely a far cry from the pre-race pasta parties I’m used to from high school. I stuck with a much simpler and healthier Mediterranean Salmon Salad – though I’m definitely not opposed to Dairy Queen after the 5k ;)

http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=76NnCszJMUJG1xuUqFFkyQ&userid=x2kIaq8x6Q2I6uJxmVg4cA

I have an entire day to relax and enjoy before the race, but honestly I wish I could just race RIGHT NOW. Sometimes (okay, every time) I have a nighttime race, I usually spend the day over-thinking and becoming more nervous; it would be better to get it done first thing in the morning before I have time to obsess over it. I need a distraction, maybe I’ll spend the day catching up on the entire season of Amazing Race!

Luckily, I have been waiting to run this 5k for so long, I feel like I have enough adrenaline to push me through it. :)

Tomorrow I’ll share how the race goes, hopefully good news!