2010 Chicago Marathon Expo Review.

The 2010 Chicago Marathon was my 2nd marathon ever.

My 1st marathon was the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon.  It was on their new course, starting at Dodgers Stadium to the sea in Santa Monica, CA.  I finished at a conservative and easy:  6:11:xx over a not very flat and fast course.


Because the Chicago Marathon Expo and event itself are pretty big by themselves, I'll cover them in separate posts.

Today's post is about the Expo.


Expo: Friday
Shuttles
Free shuttles were available to the Expo from several locations.  I took a shuttle from the Chicago Hilton to McCormick Place, the site of the Expo.

Welcome.

The event was on 10/10/10.  The event slogan was, "Date to Motivate."

Wrong T Shirt
My packet pickup had only 1 hiccup.  They had defaulted me to a Women's L.  Because of my broad shoulders, I have always put down Men's/Unisex L.

To my relief, the T shirt exchange was rather painless.


Appearances of Elite Runners and Coaches
I was in awe of some of the elite runners and coaches appearing at the Expo.

Ultramathoner Dean Karnazes appeared at the North Face and WV booths.

Ryan Hall appeared at the Asics and the Hall Steps Foundation booths.

Bart Yassos greeted runners and signed books at the Runner's World booth.

Famed coach, Hal Hidgon, greeted runners and signed books at his own booth, I believe.

Fun Stuff
In some ways, I am glad I am not winning this hefty trophy because I don't want to imagine the cost of shipping it or what my luggage fees would be.

The Chicago Marathon Trophy.  The course preview is in the background.

Nike was a huge sponsor for the event and had a large retail floor space for their apparel, shoes and Nike+ computers.  I recognized and said, "Hello," to Lauren, who works for Nike.  She works some of the running events in my area and was in town working at the Expo.

Nike also had a names wall, listing the names of all the participants in the marathon.  A names wall also appears outside the Niketown store in Chicago, IL.

The Nike names wall proclaimed, "We are all marathoners."

It took me a short while, but I eventually found my name, "Mae Lee."

In the VW booth, they had the Doodle Bug.

Now kids, don't try this at home now.

Bank of America also had a photo booth were you can pose for a pic in front of a green screen, and they'll insert a background into the back.

Those who love to shop can also do some serious damage to their wallets.  Plenty of runners clothing and accessories to choose from.  All the big names were there:  Nike, Brooks, Asics, New Balance, the North Face and Mizuno.

Currently, I seem to have everything.  I spent less than $40.  I purchased an Asics T shirt, 2 Accel Gels and a packet of orange-flavored Endurox R4.

The food samples I paid most attention to was the following:

1. Gatorade - Official course fluids.
2. Accel Gel - Official course gel.

Expo:  Saturday
I also stopped by the Expo briefly on Saturday.

I ran into the Prez.  He and a couple of frequent marathoners founded the Marathon Maniacs and later founded the Half Fanatics.

The Prez and Me.

I also stopped by the New Balance booth.

Khalid Khannouchi appeared at the New Balance and Gatorade booths.  He won the Chicago Marathon twice and is the American world record holder for the marathon.

The Course Seminar
I only attended 1 seminar over the course of the Expo.  It was the Course Seminar, which brought some anxiety to my race day.

The Good:
Aid stations are a block long or longer.

The Bad:

1. Course of 6 hours and 30 minutes is based on gun time, not chip time.
2. Uh, oh...  I had signed up for the event thinking it was 6 hours and 30 minutes chip time.
3. I heard there were 45,000 participants for this event, leaving me in way back.
4. I was told that they do leave The Finish opened for slower folks, but they might have to use sidewalks and stop signs along the way.
5. Also, the aid stations won't be opened past a certain point when the end vehicle goes thru.

Training Going In
I did 3 - 20 mile wogs going into the Chicago Marathon.

1. The Best:  4:11:xx
2. The Worst:  4:31:xx  ( @ Mile 16: felt overheated and @ Mile 19:  cramped up)

Given the times of my 20 mile wogs, this can get awfully close to 6 hours and 30 minutes gun time.

I left the Expo with some anxiety.


I'll try to cover my Chicago Marathon within the next couple of days.

Grand Opening - Road Runners Sports, Campbell, CA. Event date: 11/13/10.

This event is a bit far for me, but it may work for someone out there:

Grand Opening
Road Runner Sports - Campbell
877 E. Hamilton Ave Campbell, CA 95008
(408) 796-6979

Event date:  11/13/10.
Time listed:  9 am to 2 pm

VIP's get 20% off.
There will be raffles.
Meet Shoe Dog.
Sports bra fittings.
Samplings.
Expo booths from 9 am to 2 pm.

Sounds like a fun event!!!

Dean Karnazes Talk and Book Signing, Fleet Feet Menlo Park, CA. Event date: 10/27/10 at 7 pm.

Dean Karnazes will be doing a talk and book signing at the following:

Fleet Feet Menlo Park
859 Santa Cruz Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 325-9432

Date:  10/27/10
Starts:  7 pm

It doesn't hurt to ring up the store to confirm as the date approaches.

Good luck!

New Course and Event PR: Nike Women's Half Marathon.

Finished the 2010 Nike Women's Half Marathon today in San Francisco, CA.

"I Run to Be" was the slogan for this year's Nike Women's Marathon and Half Marathon.

It was cold and started to rain during the middle of the event.

Garmin:  2:50:09, a new course and event PR.

I was quite surprised as I hadn't train on hills recently and had been focused so much on the supposed flat and fast Chicago Marathon.

More details about my Nike Women's Half Marathon to be posted before next week's end.

Gone Hiking at the Rocky Ridge 5k.

OK.  I became the hiking tortoise today at Brazen Racing's Rocky Ridge event all in the name of a tech T.  Yes, folks.  I did it for a T shirt.

Brazen Racing generally does challenging trail events around the greater San Francisco Bay Area.  Perhaps, once in a blue moon they do a flat and fast one.

Las Trampas where the Rocky Ridge events were held.  San Ramon, CA.

Too Early Might Be Bad for You.
I woke up too early and didn't get lost on the way over, which meant I got there when it was pitch black dark.

As I was walking from the dirt parking area, passed a gate and then down a dirt trail to the set up area, I kept thinking a mountain lion might just jump on me and make a meal out of me.  Another lady who arrived after I did said she thought the same thing as she was making her way through the darkness to the set up area.

The Start and The Finish.

Chip Timing.  Must return chip afterwards, or else...

Nice single track in the shade.

The Mile Markers were well done.  In addition, there was flour to mark off confusing intersections.

Nice flat patch.

Oh, how I wish everything was pancake flat!

Challenging Events.

I was told that their Rocky Ridge Half Marathon, 10k and 5k were their most challenging events.  The Half Marathon featured an elevation change of almost 4,000 feet.  The 10k had an elevation change of almost 1,500 feet.  And, the 5k event I did had an elevation change of almost 800 feet.

For the 5k, the big accent up hill started at around Mile 1.75.  It was a genuine slog fest.  A few folks even stopped along the way up to catch their breaths. 

Looking down from near the top.

Those thinking of flying downhill better take care.  It was steep enough where one had to slow down or risk injury.

There wasn't much to see out there.

The Spectators.

The weather started to get warm, but shade never seemed too far away along the course.

Enjoying the Shade.

Afterwards, I celebrated my hike with an It's It, which Brazen Racing is known for.

It's It.

By the Calories. 

I kinda of feel guilty for munching down on the It's It.  It has 340 calories, while my hike only burned up 298 calories.

I then reasoned that I have the Nike Women's Half Marathon the next day, so I will burn up those calories and then some the next day.

I also ate a couple of slices of watermelon, some orange slices, 1/2 a bagel with Nutella and 2 small pieces of chocolate chip cookies.

The Bling and Shirt.

The Bling.

The Shirt.

 

I had a fun hike today.

Now, on to the Nike Women's Half Marathon.

2010 Nike Women's Marathon Packet Pick Up.

I made it to the Nike Women's Marathon Expotique on Thursday late afternoon/eventing to pick up my packet.

Nike Women's Expotique, Union Square, San Francisco, CA.

It was much more crowded than last year.  The line was 2 blocks going in waiting for the Expotique to open.  And, as I got nearer to the front of the line, more folks got in line that it was again 2 blocks long getting in.

Once inside the tent, it was very obvious the venue was too small for the number of folks who had shown up.  It was chaotic.  There were lines everywhere, and it was difficult at times to figure out what the lines were for and where the lines were going.

My packet pickup was anything but smooth.  I missed a station only to be sent back from a further station.  I then got a wrong set of directions from someone with credentials on. 

Fortunately, I came across and recognized Aileen, who has worked some of the Nike events.  She led me passed a "No Entry" point to get the item I had missed.  Without her, I would have been forced to exit, reenter and (gulp) start in the back of a horrendous line

Thank you very, very much, Aileen.

My schedule for this week is packed, so I'll try to have the rundown posted before the end of next week.

Marathon Mental Strategies and Bag of Tricks.

I attended the BATC: Marathon Training Speaker Series, Part 3.  The topic covered was marathon mental strategies.

World class marathoners, Peter Gilmore and Madga Lewy Boulet, were the speakers.

Peter emphasized focusing on "ruthless positivity."

Madga mentioned that in a long event, such as a marathon, you have to find something to pull out from your bag of tricks to keep you going.  She also mentioned that it helps out to break things down in small steps as you go along.

Afterwards I realized that I hadn't focused enough on the mental game.  I was always more concerned about trying to get in all the runs on schedule instead.

Now, I just need to work on my "ruthless positivity" and on my bag of tricks.


They also had raffles and some of the sponsors gave away some schwag.  I came away with the following:

GU gels, Saucony water bottle, and I won a $25 gift card from Sports Basement in a raffle. 

Thank you sponsors, Sports Basement, GU and Saucony.

2010 Chicago Marathon: Post Race Commiserating.

Sometimes, post event commiserating helps with the post race blues.

I was disappointed with how my 2nd Half went over this past weekend at the Chicago Marathon.  The heat shot up to 89 F during that day.


I attended a marathon seminar.  Quite a few folks attending also did the Chicago Marathon over this past weekend.  Everyone agreed that it was just too hot out there.

The lady sitting next to me said she and her mom did the race together.  She said at the end, her mom had issues and had to be tended to by medical folks.  She said her mom said, "Don't worry about me.  I am OK."

The lady next to me said, "Mom, you are not OK."

Silly as it sounds, sometimes it helps to hear it from others, even though you, yourself, know that you can't control the weather.  And, when things just get too hot out there, the best you can do is to take care of yourself to run another day.

RnR Los Angeles Half Marathon Course Preview.

Those running or considering running in the Rock 'N' Rolls Los Angeles Half Marathon can watch a preview of the course before they step a single foot onto the course.

To preview the course, click here.

2010 Chicago Marathon: How do you know when an event is going bad?

Over the past weekend, I participated in the Chicago Marathon, one of the world's major marathons.

It was my 2nd marathon.

Q:  How do you know when an event is going bad?
A:  When the Gatorade is HOT at Mile 15, you know that the event you are doing is going bad.

The aforementioned Q & A pretty much sums it up how my marathon went.


My week this week is pretty packed.  But, I'll try to cover some of the happenings from my Chicago Marathon weekend before the end of next week.

Rock n Roll Marathon Events. Save $20 on 10/10/10.

It's a 10/10/10 deal from the RnR folks.

$20 off
Code:  SAVEON10

For a list of events and dates, click here.

Valid from:  10 AM to 10 PM PST ONLY.

Ladies Night Event at Road Runner Sports.

I usually don't come this way, but I was passing thru on my way back from the RnR San Jose Half Marathon Health Expo.

Road Runner Sports, San Carlos, CA.

Reps from several endurance and health related organizations and companies were present.

1. Nike
2. Zoot and Yankx
3. Saucony
4. Mizuno
5. Fluid
6. Garmin
7. Weight Watchers
8. Shape Ups
9. a gym, which I forgot the name, of was also present and was giving away a trial membership
10. there was also a message table and free messages were offered from a place that I also forgot the name of
11. free facial from another place I forgot the name of 

Going in I heard there would be refreshments.  I thought it would just be some electrolyte replenishment drink, but I was amazed when I got there.

Road Runner Sports food table.

Cheese, crackers, wine and GU Chomps.

Chipotle food table.

Tacos from Chipotle.

Chips and dips from Chipotle

Dessert was from Sweetcakes of Redwood City, CA.

Delicious pieces of cupcakes was from Sweetcakes.

There was also raffle prizes.  Due to the low number of turnout, everyone went home with a prize; some went home with 2 prizes.  I won a Zoot mesh bag and a pair of socks from Road Runner Sports.

I had fun.  If you have a local Road Runner Sports, you might want to check it out to see if they are doing a Ladies Night event.

REI Members get 20% off 1 Full Priced Item.* Valid: 10/8/10 - 10/17/10.

Fall sale is going on at REI stores and at REI.com.

REI members can get 20% off 1 Full Priced Item.*

Code:  FALL20

An REI membership currently costs $20 and is valid for your lifetime.  I purchase my membership years ago when it was $15.  It has save me a considerable amount money since I have became a member.

Members also receive up to 10% in savings on your regularly priced REI purchases daily.  Dividends are distributed annually.

Items purchased at REI.com can also be shipped to your local REI store for pick at no shipping charge.  No need to be concerned about packages being left on your doorsteps for someone else to take while you are away.

To start shopping, click here.

*Exclusions apply.  See exclusions at Rei.com

Free* box of GU Roctane Island Nectars with purchase at the GU store. I received my box with a "bonus."

Last week Friday, I blogged about the free* box of GU Roctane Island Nectars with purchase at the GU store.

I received my order this week.  I was surprised 2 boxes had arrived from GU.  My order wasn't very large, and the items I ordered can fit into 1 box.  I opened the 1st box, and everything in my order was there.  I couldn't figure out what was in the 2nd box.

My order of Happiness.

Free box of GU Roctane Island Nectars.

I opened the 2nd box and was surprised by what I found.  I found 2 boxes of GU gels.  1 box was GU Tri- Berry.  The other box was Jet Blackberry.  I also found a packing slip indicating it was someone else's order.  I double checked the outside box label, and it was addressed to me.

My surprise and "bonus."

I emailed GU and informed them that they had shipped me someone else's order by mistake.

Within a couple of hours, they emailed me back, thanking me for letting them know.  They told me to just keep the order and that they will ship another shipment to the person whose order I had received.

I am sure it was an anomaly where I had received someone else's order in addition to my own order.  The offer for the free* box of GU Roctan Island Nectars is still listed on their website.

Code:  INROC2K10

* Limitations apply.  See GU website for details.

Thanks, GU!!!

Bay Area Track Club Speaker Series, Part 3. Race Day Mental Marathon Strategies. Event date: 10/13/10, Wed.

Bay Area Track Club (BATC) presents Part 3 of their Marathon Speaker Series.  World class marathoners, Madga Lewy Boulet and Peter Gilmore, will speak to the audience about race day mental marathon strategies.

To see a video clip of what's in store for Part 3 of their Marathon Speaker Series, click here

Where

Sports Basement Presidio
610 Old Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94129 

(415) 437-0100
Get directions from Google Maps

When
Wednesday, October 13
Join us at 6:30pm for snacks and drinks. The talk will begin promptly at 7:00pm.

Attendees can enjoy 10% off everything at the Sports Basement store with 10% of their purchases going directly to the Bay Area Track Club.

To RSVP and/or to ask about race day mental marathon questions, please click here.

Attendees can enter a raffle to win prizes from some of the sponsors, including Sports Basement, GU and Saucony.

Power Balance Need Volunteers for the Nike Women's Marathon, event on: 10/17/10, Sun. Free T shirt and wristband.

I am just passing this along:

PB
is looking for volunteers for the Nike Women's Marathon 10/17 in San
Fran. PB is hosting a mile and will be giving out a t-shirt and
wristband for volunteers! If you are interested please contact VJ at
vjdjeno@gmail.com for more info! THANKS!

Eating practices of the best endurance athletes in the world | Active.com

Eating practices of the best endurance athletes in the world | Active.com

Fascinating article on what some of the best endurance athletes in the world are eating.

I'd like to have what they are having.

2010 RnR San Jose Half Marathon Review.

Event:
2010 RnR San Jose Half Marathon
San Jose, CA
October 3, 2010

Going In.

1. My October calendar is too busy for me to pushed like a mad person on my 1st event for the month.  So, I wanted an easy and relaxed run.
2. I signed up for this event during last year's expo before I ran it for the 1st time last year.  It was a deal at $65 with a very nice goodie bag as a bonus.
3. My bro and a couple of friends were doing the event also.  They don't run regularly.

Expo.

San Jose Convention Center.

Where is everyone?

This year's expo was considerably smaller than last year's.  Those who are claustrophobic or who want more personalized service from the sales reps will probably be much happier, however.  I finally met Joelle, one of my FB friends, who also does long distance events.  She did last year's event and also felt that this year's expo was much smaller.

The expo did not offer any seminars or speakers.

The only appearance at the expo was by Meb, winner of last year's New York Marathon and RnR San Jose 1/2.  He appeared at the Sony booth and eventually went on to win the event again, this time finishing in 1 hour, 1 minute and 45 seconds.

Meet Meb.

2010 Brooks Participant Tech T.  Now, I am all set for St. Patty's Day.

The 2010 RnR San Jose 1/2 Marathon and 5th Anniversary bling.

Race Day.
Started off with too much drama.

Where is my contact lense?

After I put in my contacts, I noticed one side had blurry vision.  I checked in a mirror and sure enough, one of my lenses was not in.

Well, where did it go?

I frantically looked in the living room, the bathroom, the sink and even in a few pieces of napkins I had tossed into a garbage can.

I got more and more panicked, thinking I will have to complete an event blurry visioned in one eye.  I even checked underneath my slippers, thinking I might have crushed it while walking around looking for it.

To my relief, I found it on the floor dusty but unsmashed.

Pre-race Amenities.

1. Bottles of Cytomax available.  Last year, they would only give me a sample in a cup and not give away the whole bottle.
2. Arrowhead water. - Thanks Arrowhead for sponsoring the event.
3. Bananas.

Overcrowded Corrals.
I literally could not get into my corral again.  Just like last year, the corrals were already jammed packed with people, leaving a number of folks standing outside, trying to get in.

The corrals eventually moved forward and those of us once outside were able to get in.  But, it was miserable. Clueless people in the corrals were waving their arms around while talking to their friends.  I got bumped into numerous of times.  Only one person said, "Excuse me," after they had bumped into me.

As the corrals moved forward, a woman outside the corral screamed loudly into my ear as I was going by her.  She was cheering for a lady standing next to me.  :(

Then, some one behind me stepped on the heels of my shoe not 1x, not 2x but 3x, as we moved toward The Start.

The Start.
I tried to put away the misery of the corral and looked towards the event.

Heading towards The Start.

Often, it's crowded during the 1st mile and things would let up.  But, it did not.

During Mile 1:  Very crowded.

At Mile 1, it is still crowded.

San Jose isn't exactly a very scenic city to run thru compared to many other places.

So, they spruced up the skyline with a giant Sony Headset balloon.

 The event did seemed to have more of a local flavor instead.

Cheer squad from Los Gatos High School with the Shark Tank in the background.

Cheer squad ringing bell from Bellarmine Prep School.

lululemon cheer squad.

The event started off in the downtown area and then headed into some neighborhoods before returning downtown.

In the neighborhoods, it was pretty quiet.  Occasionally, you would see a few folks here and there sitting on some chairs, cheering on runners and walkers.

We eventually passed by this house that was all dressed up for Halloween.

A house all decked out for Halloween.

It felt like an eternity before I headed towards The Finish.  Eventually, I got there.

The Last Turn.  I am almost there.

Heading Towards The Finish.

Finished:

Chip:  2:53:12
Garmin:  2:53:24 @ 13.35 miles.

Due to my busy October calendar, I wanted an easy and relaxed run, and I got it.


Post-race Amenities.

1. Bling.
2. Bottle of Water.
3. Ice water soaked towel.
4. Water spraying to cool off in.
5. Bottle of Cytomax.
6. Small bagel.
7. Odwalla bar.
8. A bag of wheat thins, I believe.
9. There were orange slices littered on the floor as I went thru the post race area.  There were no orange slices for me when I went thru however.
10. A banana. - My bro and his friends finished after me, and they did not get any bananas.
11. Those 21 years of age or older with ID, gets 1 Miller 64.  Extra drinks can be purchased for $5 per cup.

Post race Concert:  Blues Traveler.
My bro's friends who did the race really wanted to catch the free post race concert, so we stayed for a while afterwards.  It is great to just hang out with friends and relatives.

Blues Traveler post race concert.  View from the front.

Side view.

Odds and Ends.

1. Along the route, there was an roped off section of damaged trees and cars.  I found out later from the news that someone had drove into a bunch of parked vehicles, flipped their vehicle and died at the scene.  Sad for the driver but felt spooked that the course ran near it.  It was witnessed by a police officer preparing for the RnR San Jose.
2. The race had almost been canceled.  There was a large diesel spill from a building downtown that got into their sewer system.  A porta potty section reeked of diesel fumes.  A news article mentioned that if the spill had been a tad bit larger, the race would have been canceled.

What I thought of the event?

Pros:

1. Local event.
2. Flat.
3. Fairly good running weather for Oct.
4. Awesome volunteers.

 Cons:

1. Very congested at certain parts.  Those in the back might want to consider another event for PR seeking instead.
2. Not as scenic compared to many other places.

Overall:
This event isn't high on my list to do.  I can take it.  Or, leave it.  But, it's always nice to do a local event and get to hang out with friends and relatives.

Free* box of GU Roctane Island Nectars flavor with Purchase at GU Energy.

I love GU but can't really afford their Roctane gels.

GU is giving away a 6 pack box of GU Roctane in Island Nectars flavor with a purchase of another item off of their website.

For more info. and/or to order, click here.

* Limit one 6 pack of Island Nectars Roctane per customer and not to be combined with any other offer. Good through October 31, 2010. Shipping and handling not included.