Monday, April 21, 2014

Kentucky Derby Mini/Marathon Race Expo....

So before we say anything, let's just put out there, I did it & I finished.

Yahooo!!!!

It has a story of its own & I'll do the recap tomorrow, but today, we'll start with the day before - the race expo...

Friday I ran down to the Louisville Convention Center to get my race packet.

I will say, this is the one thing I HATE about this race.  It's not convenient to get into the convention center during work hours.  Parking is a night mare.

Last year, I ended up driving so far DOWN in a garage, the ceilings were so low & it was like dirt paths, I literally had a panic attack & felt like all the walls were closing in. I seriously FREAKED OUT & had to call Ricky to talk to me until I got out of there... so I refused to park in a parking garage this time. 

I drove around for 10 minutes until I said "screw it" & went further out & found an empty meter.  It only took me 15 minutes to walk to the convention center... geez...

Good pre-day race workout - right?

Expo

Got in the expo & immediately had a camera crew following me to get my stuff.  OK then... they never asked me my name, never said they were going to follow me, but stuck right with me.  I figured they would just use it as snippets since they didn't need my name.  But I tell you what, it made me walk a lot straighter & smile a lot more then usual.

Expo
A lot of Vincent's in the race

Found my name on the list & got my race number & I headed to get my packet...

To a guy who could NOT get my number right.  16,700... Seven Zero Zero... I saw him kept thumbing through the bibs, going the wrong way so I repeated it again... he still was going the wrong direction.  I don't know if the camera's being on us were making him nervous or what... so he asked me AGAIN what my number was & then  he just stood there.

At this point, I'm feeling like the camera's are just a part of Candid Camera (did I just age myself) or Punked (is that even still on too?) ... & then the lady next to him just reached in & got the packet myself...

Thanks Mr. Man... you probably ruined my chances of being a star.  The camera people were probably like, "let's find someone else to follow"... because they left at this point...

I walked around & decided to take time to look at more booths this time instead of zooming in & out like I normally do...

Glad I did... I found a booth that would tape you up.  Now, I believe 120% in KT Tape - but this was different.  It was called Spider Tech...

& it's precut & they apply it on you for the race.  Only $10?  Sign me up...

Expo

there were 2 ladies in front of me getting their shins & feet taped up so I had to wait...  OK - time for more shopping. 

Literally, the booth right next to them held these HB Tunes hand held things I've been wanting... I seriously was going to the expo looking for this & it was right in my face.  The lady was like, "Let me know you how it works"... I told her, I don't care, just sell me one.  I've been wanting one for so long...


She took my phone, found out which one fit best & BAM - another product in my bag...

Still waiting for the 2 ladies to finish getting taped up.  They were taking pictures & enjoying themselves - I don't blame 'em - that's what these things are for - enjoyment, so I went shopping some more...

Found another product I'm anxious to try... Primal Sports Mud.  I heard the guy say it works for tendonitis & I was sold.  My bicep tendonitis is ridiculous & I'll try anything ANYTHING to ease it up...

Expo

Apparently its some sort of mud you put on, put heat on it & it does some sort of magical thing & eases it up... we'll see... I have read up on it since I got home that night & I did read a lot of good things about it.  Fingers crossed.

MAGIC!!!
This is how awesome I hope it works
Unicorn on a pink shirt kinda awesome!

I headed back & it was my time to get taped up... good thing I came back.  There was a line of other people to get taped up.

I had to lift up the back of my shirt & lean over & the lady slapped that baby on me in 5 minutes... I was nervous it would come off because when I try to apply KT Tape to my back, the curve of my low back makes it slide right off.  That's why I was happy to have someone else apply it. 


Side note - its Monday morning & after the race, Easter, showers, a LOT of moving, its STILL on... & you'll see in my recap, my back didn't cause me one bit of issues. 

I need this lady & this Spider Tech tape in my life every week... please...

I was ready to leave & head back to my car, happily swinging my bag full of goodies...

the only bad thing?  They had no Honey Stinger products... what? 

I hate gels.  They give me diarrhea for days after (TMI?) so I try to avoid anything that isn't natural based. 

So after I got off work, I headed to our local running store & loaded up on my favorite products...

T race

The rest of the night, I just tried to relax...

I made some yummy spinach ravioli & incredible bread & carb'ed up... the best part of a race...



I tried to get my mind where it needed to be.  I think I was more afraid of this race then any I've ever done. Which I'm not sure why.  But I just was trying to switch on the mind to be positive... visualize myself finishing...


I normally can't sleep well on race night, but luckily, I've ran so much during the week doing everything in life, I was exhausted...

& I hit the bed early & slept right through the night...

so tomorrow - race recap & how it all went down....

3 comments:

  1. Sooo can't wait for your race recap! Congrats on finishing the race, and so glad to hear that the Spider Tech tape worked great!

    That handheld thing for your phone looks awesome... would be perfect for runDisney races to get pictures easily at each stop. Ok, is it bad that I think about how things would work during a Disney run? Goodness gracious, I may have an obsession lol!

    That guy who 'helped' you at the booth had a serious case of camera jitters... that story had me giggling the whole time!

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    Replies
    1. I bought the hand held thing thinking that too... nah... not good for taking pictures because you have to unhook it from your hand completely to get the phone out... I did it once & dropped my phone. Kinda not the point of having it :( & it actually ended up cutting the circulation off of my thumb (my hands swell so bad running) so I had to just end up carrying it it anyways... which was OK because then it was ready to pull out for pictures :) ... so kinda didn't work, but I still will like taking it on short runs around the home..

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  2. I gotta tell ya, I HATE driving in downtown Louisville. I seriously get lost every time and get so stressed out. (And this weekend was no different!)
    That spider tape sounds amazing! One thing I don't like about KT is that it comes off so easily. So funny about the camera people and that poor boy. Lol!
    Can't wait to read the recap!!

    ReplyDelete

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