Detroit Marathon Expo

Yesterday afternoon, Josh and I dropped Lucy off at my parents and headed downtown to Cobo for the Marathon Expo.  The hours for the expo were relatively short, 3-8 on Friday and 10-7 Saturday.  Parking was kind of a pain, but Josh found a metered street spot for $1 so we didn't have to pay $5-10 to get into one of the nearby garages.

The Expo itself wasn't all that big.  The had plenty of booths covering a wide range of items, but we were only there about an hour.  I shopped around a little bit, but only picked up a few Gus to stockpile for the next few months.

I had a chance to scope out the course, again.

Since we got there so early (4:00 or so), there was virtually no line for the packet pick up and it was a breeze.  Because of the international aspect of the race, you have to show your passport or an enhanced drivers license to get your bib.  Even though this info is all over the website, present in the registration process, and on facebook and twitter, I am shocked at how many people claim to not know this!  

Go 1727!!!

I even had a chance to stop by the Problems&Solutions table to change my corral - I wanted to move up to corral F, since I think I want to aim for a 9:15-9:30ish pace early on.  Once again, no issues!  (They just have the corrals printed in the upper corner, so I just got a sticker to place over it with a new letter.)

I think I am ready for tomorrow.  I did 2 miles easy today and felt good.  I keep going back and forth about what to wear.  I almost always overdress, but I am afraid of being too cold.  I'll decide sometime tonight, or in the morning after I check the weather for the 345,683 time.

The weather is still iffy.  Temps are predicted between 48 and 52 for the 4 hours I'll be running (which is awesome), with winds from the SW at 11 mph.  No sun, but cloudy with a 30-40% chance of showers the entire time (not awesome).  So really, the only thing I need to finish up tonight is figuring out what I am going to wear!  (Shorts or capris, long sleeve UA shirt or arm sleeves)

As for goals, my main one is a PR (my previous marathon was 4:23:23).  I think I'm going to start out at 4:10 race, but part of me still wants to break 4 hours.  I also want to finish strong so the last few miles aren't torture, so I think I will start out more conservatively than that.

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a race report and great news!!!  I can do this!