IU Mini Marathon.... Prerace thoughts in my head

This will be a little different, as I replay thoughts from race day.
Here's the first of 3 installments.

PRE-RACE:
HOME
4 am. Why do I have to get up so early. If we were just rich, we could have stayed in a hotel up there and got what another hour's sleep?... I need some coffee but not too much... Other than the usual pain in my ankles, the trip to the coffee pot feels pretty good... I guess having 2 days rest and lots of stretching was a good idea... Out the door at 4:45 exactly and it's kinda cool but muggy and very dark!...
ARRIVAL
It's 5:45 am.(or 6:45 Bloomington time) and we just pulled into IU's campus... Plenty of parking available, not sure why I worried.... The walk into the field house to register is still under the cover of darkness... We go in the wrong door and have to zig zag through cones and by the indoor track to register... I look around at all the athletes who will blow by me in this first race... they look so young!... the tables are well organized and I get my packet... I can tell I am nervous cause it's taking me so long to calm my fingers enough to tie on my scoring chip (have a phobia that it will fall off my shoe) and hang my bib correctly... back out the door to be greeted by the break of day but there's no break in the humidity.... I eat 2/3 of a power bar, of which a yellow jacket decides it's entitled to a share... I surrender to it after a few frantic swats at the pest (I'm also a bee-phobic)... One last sip of water takes me toward the starting area....
WARM UPS
I see runners darting across the stadium parking lot in every different direction.... some are stretching under trees, by lamp posts and along sidewalks... Others are just sitting on parking stops chatting so casually... I study the crowd, we come in all shapes and sizes... some look very seasoned for the occasion, others seemed to have decided yesterday that they'd give this running thing a shot!... I start a very easy jog as an all systems check of my body... so far so good... I stretch in the usual ways only hold each stretch a little long and I focus a little more intensely on the muscles and tendons while rehearsing the upcoming miles.... I remind myself this is my first time but that I have covered this distance before on long runs... I think about the hot summer days and hills I have climbed but mostly just how good it is to feel ready for this new venture called the mini... I remind myself of the strategy.... conserve up hills and speed down the other side... there will be many opportunities to employ this tactic today....
RUNNERS TAKE YOUR MARK
we are called to the start line and I wonder, "where's Sue and Charity?"... I look and look and spot them... Now I don't feel like such a stranger in the crowd... We high five each other knowing the hard work we have all put in and feeling like we've won because we've made it to another starting line... The national anthem was sung by an IU student... I figured it would be good but I was wrong as she sounded like someone singing from atop the North Pole, shivering with each note... I thought it was ironic that she sounded like she was freezing, under such warm and muggy conditions.... Once the song was over, it was time for the count down 10-9-8-...3-2-1 and finally we were off! Anticipation, now in the past, my first mini marathon was unfolding in front of me as the crowded mass of runners crossed the start line triggering beeps from their timers, assuring each of us that our times were now being tracked until our return. Most of us tapped our watches as we headed out of the gate.