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.