Marathon Race Weekend: First, The Expo!

Arriving at the Prime Osborn Convention Center

Leaving our mark...

Man enough to wear Pink...

These boards were placed on our run on the beach.

There were about 6 of them, each saying something

different.

I am a few days late in writing this for a few reasons but the main reason is that I caught the flu, or something like it, yesterday. I was trying to recover from all the soreness but must have had a lowered immune system and I caught my daughters cold.

So to start off the weekend, my husband, kids and I headed up to Jacksonville and spent the night with my family up there. I was so excited and not nervous at all. I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget to bring anything. One thing I brought was vaseline which helped SO much race day. Other things I brought were, my ipod, race gear, my breast cancer hair ribbon and my camera!

Then Saturday came. Had my coffee and breakfast and got ready to go to the Expo. My sister-in-law volunteered to work at the Expo so I drove over there with her.

My friend and her family came up Saturday and met us there. One great thing about these bigger races is the Expo events. There are countless vendors and free items they are just giving away! What was unforgettable about this Expo was, meeting and listening to the famous runner, Jeff Galloway. He had valuable information to give and took questions from the runners.

Another wonderful experience was meeting the woman who started this race, Donna Deegan. She started The Donna Foundation, in which 100% of the race proceeds go to. She was so nice and willing to take the time to get a picture with her and she also signed our bibs!

Then we picked up our race packets, shopped a little, and headed to the hotel to check in. After that, we drove back to my family's house. My husband and mother cooked us a nice spaghetti dinner. Later, said our goodbyes and good lucks and off to the hotel for the night. We stayed a couple miles from the race and the hotel provided us with buses to and from the race site. With over 9,000 participants, it was MUCH better than having to drive there and park.

Finally, the girls watched some Pride and Prejudice and the guys watched some sports, took some pictures and off to sleep we went.

Just wanted to post really quick about my run I did this evening. I felt really good. Not tired and full of energy! 40 minutes with a little sprint at the end. Just about 3 days now until the race and I'm getting so excited! Went over race plans today with S. Everything is coming together now and we even have matching shirts :)

Well off to bed early tonight. Tired. Night.

Weather Forecast For Sunday

Here is the weather forecast for the day of the race and it sounds like it's going to be a fabulous day!

1 Week Until 26.2 with Donna!

I can't believe how fast time has passed and only one week until the big race. I've been cross training a little more and I need to get in a run tomorrow.

I also have my 30 minute cardio interval class I'm holding in my neighborhood tomorrow morning. Yesterday, I had two people show up which was an improvement from Wednesday night and that I had one person. I am thankful however, for anyone who comes. I really do enjoy working out and bringing that enjoyment to others. To help them change their lives and to help them achieve their goals. I know how important it is for someone to need that extra motivation to get them on the path to better health.

So this week is all about preparation for the weekend to come. I am meeting up with my running buddy this week to discuss race plans...which of course includes some coffee and a discussion of apparel :) Yes, it is important to look good AND race-at least to me anyway! The race is for breast cancer, so I'm planning on wearing LOTS of PINK. I recently bought a pink nailpolish.

I looked at the race website and the goodie bag is awesome! A pink bag, backpack style and the race tech shirt has the pretty emblem of the medal on it. Of course there will be other free products in there which are a surprise.

To end this on a positive note, I found an inspirational video to post. It's from the website http://www.values.com/. Enjoy!

Playing Catch-up

I feel like I'm always playing this game of working out and not getting to journal about it right away. I guess that's what happens when you have a husband, 3 kids, and a dog. My routine is normally this: Getting dressed to run. Waiting for husband or family member to watch the kids. Finally getting out of the door to run. Sweet moments of bliss(aka running) or something like that. Back home to hopefully get a shower right away and then if I can remember, stretch...I know most of the time I do stretch right away, but there are times when my hectic life doesn't allow things to go in the right order or the way they should go.



Well I had to write this really quick before I have to head out the door again. Got in a short run and did my workout class. Ok, gotta go!

Swagbucks

I was sceptical at first about joining Swagbucks but I'm really glad I did! I haven't been doing it for that long, but so far I have $10 in Amazon.com e-gift cards and currently saving up for an itunes card. It's so easy! All you have to do is use their search engine to do all of your inquiries and they will randomly award you points! You also get points for having their toolbar and doing the daily poll...I mean, how easy is that??

If you are interested, please use my link as a referral! Get people to sign up under you, and earn points when they win!

Here is my link :
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/RunnerGirl525

Thanks,

Kristin