You Signed Up For What?!

I have a race coming up this weekend, and I'm quite a bit in denial about it. With apologies to Cynthia, whose blog title I borrowed for today's post, I can't believe I signed up for this race willingly. The race is the Across the Bay 10k. The race literally goes across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which is 4.35 miles.

Course Map for Across the Bay 10k

Theoretically, this is a cool and rare opportunity. But when one moves from the theoretical to the practical, one realizes that one has signed up to run across a freaking 4.35 mile bridge. And for someone with more than a passing fear of heights and bridges, this seems like a rather poor choice.

So what was I thinking?

1. The race is 2 weeks out from the Philly Half Marathon, and I had no plans for my long run that weekend. This race seemed like a solid option to hold myself accountable for my long run.
2. A group of women who I adore running with (Molly's Mod Squad) had signed up for this race already. I didn't want to miss out on the fun of sharing a race with these women!

And here I am. Committed to a race that will really take me out of my comfort zone. And not just because I am afraid of bridges, but also because I am afraid of not controlling my logistics. This race involves travel, parking shuttles from a variety of lots, a point-to-point course serviced by additional return shuttles, and no bag check option.

I will be leaving at 6 am on a school bus with the fabulous women of Molly's Mod Squad. We can leave snacks and fresh clothes on the bus, but after the school bus drops us off at a parking shuttle location, we won't see our snacks and fresh clothes for many hours (and we have to run across that bridge first...and how do you decide what to wear on an unpredictable bridge course?!). 

I am used to planning my logistics down to the detail, and with this one I have to tell my inner control freak that she has to let go and just trust everything is going to be all right. There will surely be many moments of discomfort. But in the words of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, I will get by with a little help from my friends. Maybe a lot of help. It's a good thing I have such great friends.