Couch2Boston

I got into Erie around 2pm, hit packet pickup on Presque Isle and checked into the hotel. During the weekend I think there were more Boston jackets per capita there than anywhere else in the world outside of *maybe* Boston and most of them were from 2018. I was at a Microtel and had specifically booked a room at the end of the hall because I thought it would be quiet. What I didn't realize was that I booked a smoking room. I didn't even think to look. I can't remember the last time I saw a hotel room with ash trays in it. The room smelled bad, but it could have been worse. The hallway was much worse. Oh well, the window opens to the outside so I turned off the wall unit and opened the window. I stopped by a Wegmans to buy snack food for the morning of the race and wound up with 3 packages of sushi for dinner. Back to the hotel to relax for the evening where my sinuses started bothering me and it sounded like the guy in the next room was working on a construction project. ...

Driving around on Saturday to packet pickup etc. the outside temperature in the truck was reading at 88 degrees.  There was an 'emergency alert' that came through on the radio warning of bad storms before 10pm but the sky was blue.  It was windy, so you could tell something was coming, but nothing immediate.  Eventually, around 7pm or so when I was at the grocery store getting some snacks to fuel before the race the sky opened up and the downpour was incredible.  I haven't seen rain like that in a long time.  I wound up driving in the middle of the storm and the visibility was almost as bad as a strong snow storm.  There were multiple warnings from the race director that they would not hold the race for late arrivals like they did in 2015, so I knew I wanted to get there early. Sunday morning I woke up at 3:45am, which was 15 minutes before my alarm was going to go off.  Instead of obsessing over race gear in the hotel room, I figured it was better t...