Pittsburgh Half Marathon Pre Race

I'm dividing this into 3 posts because I just wrote and wrote:
Before the race (this post)
Actual race
After the race

I started to get excited at the Expo and that was the first time I actually started to think/say I could do this. Race day, I set the alarm for 4:20am and Dave and I headed out together around 5am. We parked in his garage since he has a lease spot. I usually say that downtown Pittsburgh isn't very big and I don't mind parking there to walk to the other side of town but after the race... I kind of wish we had parked closer. I'll get to that later.

On the way I wore a compression sleeve on my left leg hoping it would help

I bought a CEP knee support brace (compression gear) at the expo on Saturday and put that on my left knee once we got to the garage. I kept forgetting things in the car so we had to go back. I forgot my bib... Then I decided I didn't want to carry the pouch I had bought at the expo because I didn't want to use it. And I went to the bathroom several times because the garage had an actual bathroom, not port a potties. I had really hydrated the week before- we were even at a wedding the night before and I had the champagne toast and a sip of beer; no other alcohol. So I didn't really drink much before the race.

We eventually headed over to the race start. I didn't even know where that was. Dave asked me a few times if I even knew where the course went and I just shrugged. I have been so upset about not being able to run recently that I really didn't pay any attention. He was telling me where I was going to be running and he's the one who told me where to go to get to the start. I had figured, eh, I'll just follow all the people.

The start is in the background; the corrals are behind it

My running buddies were all running the half or full and I wanted to try to meet up with them but was only able to find Mandy and Jen. I was the only one who got a bib with Corral E. I guess it's based on your estimated finish time. How was I supposed to figure out how long it would take- I signed up in February and hadn't even started training! I wish I had known- I would have coordinated that with Mandy and Jen at least. They were in Corral D, Colleen was in Corral C, and Sarah and Ibrahim were also in Corral D. I snuck into Corral D with Jen and Mandy. I covered my arm over my bib and nobody asked me to move it. I heard that Sarah and Ibrahim tried to sneak into Corral C with Colleen nd weren't allowed to. The corrals were so big, I didn't even see Sarah and Ibrahim.

Trying to stay warm.  The weather was perfect at the start

Before entering the corral

Just having some fun waiting in the corral

Walking towards the start

They made announcements and someone sang the Star Spangled Banner. It always feels neat to be participating in a sporting event where they sing the national anthem; it makes me feel like a real athlete. They said that there were runners from 49 of the 50 states. I was really surprised by that!  I wonder how many countries were represented.