Greetings from the Middle of Nowhere, Florida (errr… Brooksville)! Meghann, Kelly (Meghann’s sister), Abbie, and I are checked in our hotel and anxiously awaiting our big race tomorrow — a 15.0 Mile Trail Race!
The race is in Withlacoochee State Forest, which is absolutely beaaautiful.
OK — backtracking a little bit…. Kelly and I carpooled to the race location together. Before we left, I had a bowl of cereal.
And a bunch of grapes in the car.
We arrived in Brooksville around 5 PM and met up with Abbie and Meghann. This was my first time meeting Abbie, and she is so sweet and interesting! She is actually racing the 50K version of the race tomorrow (like 31 miles)…. isn’t that loco!? Plus, she gave me this awesome "Easter Basket" upon my arrival:
A running CD mix tape, tons of yummy bars, instant oatmeal, peanut butter… OH MY! And she made these amazing pineapple donut holes (which are raw). I had one of these:
We drove to the race start to pick up our numbers and packets.
I love the Crooms’ shirt!
And then we decided to go out to dinner…. we originally intended to go to this lovely Italian place, but it was closed for Good Friday. 
We ended up randomly selecting this very Southern BBQ place.
Yea… we’re in hicksville right now.
I looooove BBQ! The homestyle type is the best. I ordered 1/2 BBQ chicken (which I only about 1/2 of), corn on the cob, half a roll, and baked beans.
Dinner was delicious, but it really didn’t hit the spot for some reason. I definitely didn’t feel like I had eaten enough pre-race carbs, and neither did the other girls. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home and grabbed a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked FroYo, which we ate in our hotel room. 
My 1/4 a pint:
And now…. maybe we’ll go explore the hotel pool! And snooze on our double beds and watch TV. 
I’ve got a SERIOUS case of pre-race nerves, but I know I’ll be just fine.
Stay tuned for the post-race recap! I’m taking my camera on the trail (yes, seriously), so maybe I’ll have some cool pictures of myself huffing and puffing on the trail.
Good night!
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I love BBQ!
You will be more than fine for the race! How cool to have a race in such a beautiful location.
Have fun!
Great stuff!!
Lovin’ those raw donut holes.
GOOD LUCK!!
It looks like so much fun!!! Have a fabulous race!!
GOOD LUCK!! You guys are amazing!
Enjoy the rest of your night! Can’t wait to see a post-race recap! Have FUN!
You will do awesome! Have fun at the pool!
Good luck tomorrow! I am jealous of how gorgeous it looks!!
Also, a 50k = 31 miles, just like a 5K = 3.1 miles!
Love BBQ! The best places to eat BBQ are def the hole in the wall places!
If you move to NC you will have to experience the eastern NC/Western NC BBQ rivalry!
GOOD LUCK CAITLIN!! you’re going to do great!
Yum… BBQ and Ben and Jerry’s!! Good luck on your race tomorrow!!
good luck at the race tomorrow!!!
Good luck and have fun!
Good luck! You’ll be fine, try to relax and breathe and get a good night’s sleep!
Good luck!! I’m sure you will do GREAT!!
Good luck tomorrow! And, most importantly, have fun!
I’ve totally taken my camera out with me on nearly every single run! Even a marathon! Though my hand did get tired after a while.
Have fun tomorrow and good luck!
GOOD LUCK!!!! it’s so great that you have three other girls to run with. have fun together and go hard! i bet you’ll do great.
Good luck!
It’s so fun to read about the same event from three different people! Have an awesome race, and I look forward to the report, complete with pictures!
Have fun at the trail race tomorrow and good luck tackling those 15 miles!
Best of luck tomorrow–you girls are going to do great! I'm glad you got a little help from B&J, too
Good luck with the race! The trail looks absolutely beautiful and I’m sure you’ll do briliantly.
Yeesh, I can’t imagine running 31 miles…my knees would die. Actaully, 15K is very, very impressive ~ I can’t manage more than 7.5 miles before my left knee and hip decides to, well, die! You’re such an inspiration battling through injuries and work-induced fatigue to run this race!
~Jessica~
Good luck tomorrow!
Love the picture of you guys with your race shirts.
This trail run nonsense is really cutting into your drogging time. Good luck with the run.
Have a blast. Trail runs are so much fun.
It looks like it will be a beautiful race. Enjoy it
You are going to do a wonderful job! What a neat race!
Wow what an awesome location for a race! Good luck!
thats so awesome you are bringing your camera!! Can’t wait to see the recap! You are going to ROCK IT!
I can’t wait to hear about the race-good luck!!!
hope you are having a great race day!
You will destroy it Caitlin!! Can’t wait for your recap!