I'm not sure where to begin, so I guess I will begin with the Expo on Saturday.
I have a love hate relationship with Marathon Expos. On one hand there is the excitement of the expo, the kickoff of the event, there is a high likelihood of running into running friends around the expo and you have the opportunity to find discounts and try out new things. On the other hand, they are crowded (very crowded), loud, involve a lot of time on your feet the day before a big race and did I mention crowded.
It seemed like an insanely long walk from the metro to the entrance to the expo. It seemed like we were never going to get there and I felt a bit like a lemming as I was just following the crowd. Package pickup was quick and easy and well organized. It took no time at all to pick up my bib and shirt.
I love the color of the shirt. It's a little heavy to wear when running in Houston most of the year but it's a nice shirt. I'll be lucky if I get to wear it a handful of times however.
After I got the important stuff completed I went to the official Brooks Marathon Gear. I splurged on a MCM jacket because I needed a new jacket and this was the perfect weight to wear in Houston. I also picked up a short sleeved shirt so I'd have something I could actually wear and the required big race magnet. I was all ready to check out when I saw the line. Yikes. I almost decided to put everything away but the line looked like it was moving relatively quickly. It took about 25 minutes to get through to pay. I know later it was much longer and over an hour of waiting.
I spent the rest of my expo time, hanging out with old friends, picking up a few things I needed and checking out some future races. Around lunch it started getting way too crowded for me and I had to leave to get some fresh air.
This map makes the course look friendly
The porta potty fitting rooms made me laugh.
I left the expo in search of lunch. I always have a hard time finding food I want to eat when I'm traveling before a race. I finally decided on a sandwich from Potbelly's. My sister and niece met me at the hotel. We plotted out some places they could try to find me the next day and rode the big ferris wheel in National Harbor before they had to leave for my nieces performance and I had to leave for dinner.
I had a great dinner with friends in Crystal City and got back to the room to get to bed early. Well that was the plan at least. Georgia Tech was playing FSU in football. I was honestly expecting a blowout and an early exit to bed. It turned out to be a thrilling game with Georgia Tech coming out on top with a blocked field goal returned for the go ahead touchdown as time was expiring. I was so glad they won and even more glad that meant it didn't go to Overtime as I really needed to get to sleep.
While watching the game I got all my gear laid out for the next morning.
I set my alarm for 4am and went to sleep. At about 11:30 I woke up to a loud emergency alarm coming from my phone warning me of flash floods in Houston. Once I got my heart to stop racing, I quickly figured out how to turn off all warnings so I would not hear them go off all night long and went back to sleep.
This brings me to the race on Sunday.
After much debate, I decided to drive to Crystal City and park in the free lot and take the shuttle to the expo. I took the Metro to the Expo the day before and did not want to deal with those stairs after the race. I definitely think I made the right choice. The alarm went off at 4am and I got dressed and headed out to the car.
I drove to Crystal City, found the parking garage and parked without difficulty. I took several pictures to make sure I could find my car later if I was not completely with it after the race was over. I was in line when the first of the shuttle busses pulled up and we were off in no time. We got to the Pentagon in no time at all and were right at the security entrance. I somehow missed the memo where there would be metal detectors and that I would have to remove everything to go through. There weren't many people in front of me, but it seemed to take a longer time than I expected to get through security. My experience was nothing compared to people that arrived shortly after me though.
Fortunately some other members of TeamShenanigans saw me and caught up to me as I was leaving the security area. I really appreciated having people to hang out with in the misty rain before the race. It was much better on my nerves than sitting there by myself would have been.
One benefit from my standpoint to the security backup was that there never seemed to be a line at the porta potties in the runners village. I don't think I've ever been able to just walk up to a porta potty 3 times before the race and never wait in line once. Of course this is likely due to the fact that everyone was stuck outside the secured area. I did wonder why the area never seemed to be crowded.
About 7am we took one last stop at the portapotties before heading over to try to meet all the Mickey Milers for a pre race picture.
A lot of people were stuck in the never ending security lines to get in so we didn't have as many people turn up for the picture as were planning on it.
Then the Pre Race Festivities began with a moment of silence (always awkward when you don't hear the announcement of the moment of silence), the national anthem, the paratroopers, and the fly by.
More and more people were still flooding in from the security area. I got a message from one friend that they had just opened up security.
In true Team Shenanigan's fashion - Caryn decided to share a poncho with Chris.
We finally moved up to the corrals where part 2 of my adventure will begin.
