I did something I never did before on race day: I hit the snooze button. I was exhausted. My head felt heavy. My face hurt. Was it race jitters? Or was it the flu? Whatever it was I had to shake it off and drag myself out of bed, I had one hour to get to the race.
Yesterday’s snow still covered the ground. Thousands of runners assembled near the starting line. I huddled deep inside the crowd to help block the bitter, cold wind. My nasal drip was getting worse, I tried my best to stifle another series of coughs and concentrate on the race ahead of me. I started bouncing up and down on the tips of my toes. (A poor attempt to keep my leg muscles from tightening up in the cold air.) When the bouncing stopped, the race began.