Two Weeks! Eeek! Soo excited - little nervous, too. But a good nervous, like the excited jitters you get when getting ready for a big event. I keep picturing us out there and what it will be like. I imagine it like the other multi-day races I've crewed her for but on steroids. I hope to share the route soon with folks; will spare everyone the turn by turn plans we have, but will try to map it out generally for you all Disclaimer: Subject to change. Something I've learned with doing long races is its a good idea to have back up plans. Plan A, B, C and even D or more. And I don't mean changing or cutting the course. I mean plan of attack, plans for what and when to eat/drink/rest/run, plans on what to wear, when you may want a pacer out there to keep you company and moving, plans of how fast to go out the gate or when to pick it up or slow it down. Some people I know are sticklers about keeping to their Plan A and unfortunately, I have seen that if it doesn't go according to Plan A then there is no Plan B and with no Plan B they DNF (Did Not Finish). I think that mentality can set you up to fail. When you are out there for hours upon hours conditions can change in the blink of an eye not to mention your physical or mental status. Planning for the unexpected or at least knowing that the unexpected could occur will help you keep an open mind when you have to change plans.
Speaking of plans...now is the planning (and packing) stages of what we need to bring along. Shout out to Slayden for letting us borrow some gear!! Keith's handy work is coming along with the build out of our beds, kitchen, and storage for the van. Rebecca is about 75% packed (not this Rebecca lol). I did buy me some warm comfy clothes :). I have started collecting things in a bag that I won't need between now and then but I'm no where near where I need to be on packing yet. Looks like the start out of El Paso will be high 30's/low 40's in the morning and low 60's for the high. Time to start packing (tomorrow!).
P.S. While Rebecca was in a park here in SA, she happened to come across the little gem of a cactus staring back at her (see the photo tagged with this post). So if anyone wants to go out and plant some happy nuggets along the way for us to find when we need it most, feel free! Thanks!