Marathon numero dos is in the books, my friends! I can’t believe it’s come and gone. If you follow me on facebook or instagram, you probably know how the race turned out. I PRed! WOOT! But more on that to come…
All in all, the Philadelphia Marathon was quite the event, and it was also quite, well, event-filled – so I’m splitting this recap into two parts. Part 1 (today) will be all about the expo and the day before the race. Part 2 (tomorrow) will be all about race day! Let’s get to it, shall we?
One of the reasons I chose to run the Philadelphia Marathon is because my parents live right outside of the city. Instant free hotel. My folks actually just moved to their new house and got a new king sized bed for the guest bedroom. Pretty much the best hotel ever. Anywho, I wasn’t planning on going to the expo until later in the afternoon, but I ended up waking up early and figured I might as well just head over.
A quick drive (my first time driving in a LONG time #nyclife) brought me to the Philadelphia Convention center where the expo was being held. I walked in and was immediately confused. I had no idea where to go to get my bib, and there weren’t any signs. I started walking by all the vendor booths and just couldn’t figure it out.
Finally, I stopped two runners who had their bags and bib numbers and asked where they got them. They directed me all the way to the back of the expo. The back? Why would they put the bibs in the back? I had to walk through all the vendors before getting to the bibs. I suppose that’s smart marketing? Anywho, I picked up my bib with ease (they didn’t even ask to see my photo id – not sure how I feel about that), got my shirt, and headed out to actually explore the vendors now that I had all the essentials.
The expo was relatively small, but I liked it that way – not too overwhelming. There was, however, a big discount running gear booth that could have been seriously dangerous. I ended up holding myself back and only getting some really nice tech running gloves for $10 and some body glide (necessary). Then, as I was paying, I noticed some cotton throw-away gloves for $2. “Hmmm,” I thought, “it might be cold while I wait in the corrals.” Sold! Those impulse buys get me every time…
I perused a few other booths and snagged a few Lara Bar samples (yum!) before making my way back to my parents’ house.
I mentioned my parents just moved to this house. Well, one of my mom’s favorite things about it is that it backs up onto a canal. She’s been running along said canal a few mornings each week and wanted to show it to me, so I she took me out there for a shake out run. I have to say, it’s beautiful!
We did a nice, easy 5k (though the canal goes on for 20 miles!), snagged a selfie and headed back to the house.
I showered, got dressed, and checked out the goodies that came in my expo bag:
I love the shirt! I got a women’s medium and it fits perfectly. The back has a map of the course, too! And those Lara Bars didn’t last long. MMM MMM! Hey, a girl’s gotta carb load!
Speaking of carb loading, my parents were nice enough to host a spaghetti dinner for me, Angela (who was running the race with me – she’s also doing Dopey with me!) and Angela’s fam. My mom makes the best spaghetti sauce – made even better with brown rice pasta from Trader Joe’s. She also made some super healthy and crazy delicious baked apples for dessert. Sorry, I was too busy stuffing my face to take pics.
After loading our bellies with carbs, Angela and her parents headed to their hotel, I laid out flat Nicole (details on all my race day items here), set my alarm for a 4:30 wake up call and settled into bed.
I’ll leave you there today, but come back tomorrow to hear all about race day. Like I said, it was quite event-filled!
Want to learn about the Philadelphia Marathon? Check out part 1 of this #racerecap!
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Let’s Chat:
What do you do the day before a big race?
Bibs – should they be at back of the expo or right at the front?
This post is linked up with Tuesdays On The Run.
