This weekend Ray and I will run two marathons as a part of our training: the Baltimore Marathon and the Steamtown Marathon (in Scranton, PA). We've been training a long time for these back-to-back marathons, and I think we're prepared - for the running, that is. The scarier part of this weekend might just be navigating our way around - and between - two cities hobbled by converging runners (over 20,000 will come to Baltimore) and road closures. Yikes! I won't bore you with the details, save these two: (1) I just printed out over 20 pages of maps, directions, parking instructions, and race course information! And (2) here's a rough schedule:
Friday afternoon, October 9
- Ray drives from Virginia, we meet in Baltimore and pick up our registration packets, numbers, and timing chips at the Race Expo.
- Return to my home in Annapolis.
Saturday, October 10
- Get up at 5 a.m. or so so that we can drive 30 miles to Baltimore before they close roads. Yawn. Well, maybe 5:30.
- Bang! The gun goes off at 8:00 a.m. in downtown Baltimore. The race starts and ends at Camden Yards, where Orioles play.
- Ray and I hope to be finished by 12:30. Then we'll jump in my car and get on the road, headed to Scranton, 200 miles away.
- Race packet pick-up in Scranton ends at 5 p.m. We hope to get there in time!
- For dinner, Ray and I have been looking forward to a steaming plate of "Killarney pasta" at the Banshee Irish Pub in downtown Scranton. MMMMmmmm-MMMM. Ray ran the Steamtown Marathon last year, and we found this place and this dish, which tastes like a reuben sandwich. Afterwards, we wasted a lot of good sauerkraut trying to figure out the recipe over the course of several months. This time, we're just going to ask 'em for it, gosh darn it.
Sunday, October 11
- Up and at 'em at 5:00 a.m. again. Well, maybe 5:30. This marathon is not a loop, but rather point-to-point, so we have to catch a bus to the start of the race.
- BOOOOM! They fire an actual cannon to start this race at 8:00 a.m. I bet the neighbors love it. Here's a picture from last year:
- Hopefully we'll finish by 12:30. Then we get in the car and drive 230 miles back to Annapolis, and then sleep REALLY GOOD.
Tomorrow I'll post Ray's marathon packing list. When I first saw it, I wondered what the heck we need all that stuff for. Now I regret to say I know.
