After an extremely busy morning at work I wrapped up and headed out to the
Indianapolis Monumental Half-Marathon expo at the Indianapolis Convention Center. This was a much smaller expo than the
Mini-Marathon expo I went to in the spring (for my first 5k) but it was pretty exciting for my first half-marathon expo! It makes sense though, this is a MUCH smaller race. Only 6000 participants for both the half-marathon and the full marathon!
After I got there I sat down and got to hear Hal Higdon speak about marathon training and about his new book. I was pretty excited to hear him speak as I followed a modified version of the Hal Higdon plan for my half-marathon training!
This is the point in his talk where he was allowed to mention his latest book that was just published! I wish I could have picked up a copy (Higdon was signing them after his talk) but I figured the library was my friend (and I wanted to save my $$$ for a jacket)! After I found my bib number (lucky number 5029 - I think that sounds speedy), I ran into the WORLD'S FASTEST MAN -
Usain Bolt. Yeah, he was just hanging out at the expo (in cardboard form that is).
Well, at least his cardboard self was hanging out at the expo. I wanted to throw the bolt (his signature move) but figured that since I was alone I didn't want to weird anyone out!
Something that I've already signed up for is getting my results via cell phone! I think this is pretty cool as I can get my official results as soon as they are posted. Is this a common thing in races? All of my shorter races haven't had this! I also thought it was great that they tested our tags so that it registered the right runner.
After purchasing my jacket (and restraining myself from buying a whole Puma wardrobe) I figured I'd peruse the map of the course. I'm glad to only be doing 13.1 tomorrow, that longer course takes you by my old University though!
I also got a picture of the start and finish so that way I can figure out where to meet the hubs and my mom (who is coming into town just to cheer me on) after I'm ready for dry pants and a big juicy, celebratory cheeseburger!
I said goodbye to THE WORLD'S FASTEST MAN (I actually think he moved, this was from a different angle and he was facing me both ways) and resisted throwing up "the bolt" before heading back to my car. I think by saying goodbye to Usain it totally means I'm going to be faster than before, right (maybe he'll just rub off on me - riiiight)?
The swag bag was pretty awesome, we even got buy one get one free tickets for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra! Maybe the hubs and I can go to their holiday show, that would be pretty exciting!
I was most impressed with the EAS Myoplex full size bottle and that the race tees were actually Womens' technical tees (and if you were a man you actually got a men's tee)! I wish I had known, I wouldn't have gotten a medium, but much to my surprise when I tried it on, IT ACTUALLY FIT! It's form fitting for sure, and I would like it a little more roomy, but I could actually wear this while working out! That itself is a huge change from what size I was wearing back in January when I began my journey. I'm now off to get all my stuff together for in the morning, pack my bag for after the race and just get everything ready to go!
What's your favorite race shirt? If you've never ran a race, what's the favorite one you've seen?
What's your favorite race shirt? If you've never ran a race, what's the favorite one you've seen?