Pre-Race Goodies Galore!

One of my very favorite things to do when I go somewhere new is check out the gift shop! (I know I'm not alone there!) So, putting together an event where there's a big, ol' Expo to investigate is enough to blow my mind!

The Rock'n'Roll folks knew how to put a great pre-race event together, so come check it out with me!

The Scene
Right after picking up your bib and shirt, you rounded the corner to the countdown! (Du-du-duuu!) It was exciting and a bit nerve wracking all at the same time, so I checked out this year's finisher medals on the unfortanately lacking-lower-body mannequins (ironic for a running event, don't you think?) and passed on doing the math with the clock!


Enter ... the vendor zone!

That guy is totally saying, "Please don't make me check out the
sport bras with you." At least, that's what I think he's saying.

All Things Shiny
I blew through the first round of shirts and shoes (cha-ching-stickershockgasp-cha-chiiiing) and decided to investigate the many forms of glassware ...

From steins to tumblers to magnets, they had it all!

... and, jewelry ...


Loved it, hated the price. But, so cute!

... and, things to keep you visible in the dark ...

... and, even Christmas ornaments!

The Apparel
The second (or more) round of apparel is more novel than the stuff we saw first, and I always like browsing and reading. Oh, yes, reading the shirts takes time because there are fun ones! Like this one ...

See?! I'm so not alone in this sentiment!

... and, this one ...

I don't even like rum, but it was funny!

... and, this one ...

LOVE that one! Because I feel awesome!

... and, my favorite ...

Aww ... perfect!

There were plenty of accessories, too. I love looking at the headbands even though I don't wear them. (Go figure.) If I were to buy one, this would be the one:

Elly and I would totally match. I'm not sure if that's good or
bad, but it would be fun!

GAMES!
There were a number of interactive stops throughout the Expo. The Lottery was there. They were set up so you spun a wheel and received a scratchers ticket worth the same as the number you landed on ($1 ticket, $5 ticket or $10 ticket). Aaron received a $5 ticket, and I received the Grand Poobah $10 ticket, but if you can believe it, our tickets were not lottery winners. I know, I was shocked.

So, we played other games. At a Vegas table, I won a deck of cards while Aaron won these stylish glasses:

It takes a special someone to pull those
off. Or, at least to ever put them on!

Another vendor had a game where you looked at two pictures to find the differences, and he had us play in teams. Our round was boys (Aaron and PC#3) vs. girls (me, PC#2 and two other women). I'd say our team won because we were so brilliant, but we did have numbers on our side. (Or, did we ... to be honest, I didn't contribute even one answer!) Anyway, here are the boys working hard for that travel-sized sunscreen that they didn't win!

The vendor guy thought he was fabulous. Frankly, he was a lot
of fun, so this picture totally cracked me up!

The Cuisine
Good golly, it was a packed day! Makes you work up an appetite, don't you think? (Um, no ... but there were still samples a-go-go!)

Remember this face?

That was caused by sampling a Snickers Marathon Energy Bar. Its taste was most unfortunate. Here are the kids about to inflict it upon themselves, too:

Don't believe the nice lady!! Don't do it!!!!

If I'm having a Snickers, it's going to be the real deal!

It got better for the Crewers down the aisle ... remember in April how they kept getting beef sticks at that Expo? This time, they had to work a little bit for one in the form of making signs to support the runner!

Quick sign = beef stick. Awesome!

And, then there was the hands-down winner of food samples ... Avocados From Mexico was there (food truck style and all!):

Their stuff was goooo-ooood!!

Never would I have ever thought to pair avocado and pineapple.
But, they did, and it was deeeeelish!!!

Here's the recipe ... avocado season isn't too far off, so you bet'cha we're making this!

They also made these gazpahco shooters. It was super yummy,
but they didn't shoot. At all. And, two pretzels wasn't enough to
get it out. But, we managed because it was so stinkin' good!

Sound good? NO! Taste great? HECK YEAH!!!

I can still taste those samples in my mind ... so yummy!

We were also treated kinda fancy at this drink station:

Chilled water in fancy dispensers with all kinds of fruit to add.

My blueberries fell below my ice which made eating them really
difficult. My second visit was with an empty cup that I filled a
third of the way full of just blueberries, then I ate them the next
morning pre-race. (Well, I ate the ones PC#3 didn't eat first. Note
to self: Don't ask PC#3 to hold something he likes to eat while you
are in the porta potty line without giving explicit instruction to
hold, not eat.

The Tutorial
Did I come here to learn? I think not. But, this set-up was very cool. They had a view of the course from a car camera! It was sped up, of course (Can you imagine ... start the viewing after entering in your anticipated finish time, then sit. And, sit. Aaaaaannnd ... sit!). I took pictures within each mile because I thought it was awesome to do so. Here's the start ...

I actually remember that part of the course!

... and, here's close to the end:

Pretty funny how that's the one that turned out the most shakey.
It's kind of how Mile 12 often feels ... By the way, the fun of
watching this took a dive when Aaron pointed out the elevation
view at the top in red. *gulp!* He meant well, sweet man!!

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things
Anyone who knows me knows I've never outgrown my love for stickers and magnets!! So, you know this was enough to make me salivate just a little!

Ahhh ... fabulous!

I picked up a couple of fun things including my new Runner Girl for my car!

I like her a lot because we have similar hair.

I LOVE THE EXPO!! Big events do these right, and they're just fun!! They're also a stimulation overload from all of the things you see to the pump-you-up music they blare, so I'm usually a bit wiped out after! It's totally worth it, though, and a really fun part of the whole race package!

We were also sent on our way with a fabulous message from the organizers:

I was ready to rock! Now, I'm still diggin' the Rest!! See you tomorrow on this continuation of Rest Week!