Reunited and it feels so...incompatible?

After 9 long months of separation, the Two Girls are finally together! Here we sit, on the couch, after an amazing dinner of fried fish, hush puppies, fried potatoes, mac & cheese.....oh, and a little bit of coleslaw as a veggie. Eagerly anticipating the event on Sunday, talk quickly turns to the race (especially since as we type this the Cardinals are losing...stupid Lynn) and our thoughts about it. 

It quickly becomes apparent that we may not be running the same type of race on Sunday. Here are our own thoughts about specific race aspects:

Clothing:
Dru: the less the better.  My typical, 50 degrees and over gear is a tank top and my broken in running shorts.  (Anticipated start time temperature - 60 degrees....ugh, hot!)
Erin: layers, layers and more layers! If it is colder than 70 degrees, I might consider wearing gloves and a hat. (60 degrees....brrrrrr!!)

Pace:
Dru: What's that?  I just want to finish.
Erin: I've been surprised to find that I'm getting faster the farther I run. No one is more shocked about this than me. I don't aim to run at a certain pace, I just find myself clocking in around 10.13 mins per mile fairly consistently.
Dru:  Crap!  That's fast.

Water Intake:
Erin: My race plan is to stop at each station, graciously accepting the Dixie cup of water or Gatorade. This is the one time during the run where I feel it's acceptable for me to walk for two reasons: 1. I'll be tired. I want a break. 2. I physically can't run and drink liquids. I'll choke. I look forward to the water stations so much I'm considering writing down the station mile marks on my hand so I know how much farther I have to run before I get a break.
Dru:  I think I'll be fine with no water breaks.  I'm afraid if I stop running, even for 30 seconds that one of two things will happen:  1. Someone will run over me from behind.  2. I won't want to quit having that water break and start running again.  So, unless I feel overly parched, I will just soldier on through the water breaks.  This will also give me a chance to catch up with Erin, who passed me minutes ago with her lightning speed.

Energy Intake:
Erin: My mom gave me some energy bean things. I'm fairly certain they are candy, but they aren't actual candy so I feel good eating them. I'm supposed to eat a whole bag before the run and another bag in the middle of the run. That sounds ridiculous. I'll have 3-4 before, and another 3-4 in the midst of my run. That should suffice.
Dru:  I hate to guess about whether or not the energy beans or candy or not, so I'm just going to cut the chase and eat a (small) pack of Skittles mid-race.  That should also suffice.
Erin: She's not kidding. She's really going to eat the Skittles....candy....no joke.

That wraps up the things we have a difference of opinion on. Luckily we are both looking forward to a deliciously carb-filled dinner and a VERY early night to bed on Saturday. We're excited, anxious, nervous, and just plain ready to get this done.

See you at the Arch!
Dru "remind me why i'm doing this again" Howard
Erin "is there beer at the end of this" Gollhofer