ex(PR)essed

For months Jeff has been talking about and preparing for the JFK 50, a 50-mile trail race that snakes through central Maryland. Now, here we are, less than 48 hours from the start and our house is bustling with preparations.

Jeff has been sharing detailed notes about his preparations on his blog. He’s worrying about things like hydration, temperatures, chaffing, and the like. Read all about it here.

I’m also busy preparing. You see, it’s no easy task to watch a trail race. So, there are limited opportunities to see him, unlike in the last two marathons he did when I was able to see him 10-12 times. If all goes well and I can self-navigate rural Maryland, I will see him five times at most. That means a lot of down time for yours truly, so I just wanted you to know that I’m also prepared. Here are my plans:

Hydration
Basically, my hydration plan for the day is quite simple: lots of coffee. Our day will start around 5 a.m. I’m hopeful that there will be plenty of Starbucks…er, I mean AID stations, throughout the day.

Temperatures
It’s going to be cold, no doubt. I’ll be wearing my Columbia shoes, wool hiking socks, brown pants, Under Armour long sleeve shirt, sweater, Columbia jacket, and gloves.

Chaffing
I don’t anticipate any, thankfully.

Plan of attack
First and foremost, don’t get lost. Next, scout out warm places to avoid sitting in an idling car all day. Third, address all the envelopes for this year’s Christmas cards. Fourth, read. Fifth, cheer for Jeff when he passes by and hopefully capture a photo or two. Sixth, maintain hydration and nutrition plan. Next, crack open my puzzle book. Repeat.

Seriously, I haven’t had the best attitude about this particular race. But, now that it’s only two sleeps away, I’m getting on board and looking forward to seeing the love of my life accomplish this incredible goal.