And I hate to leave you all in suspense, but I'm not going to get to the actual race reports just yet in this post. I'm sorry!
First, I will hit on the expo which I attended Friday morning. It was at Disney's Wide World of Sports and it was huge! I love the Disney expo. When I ran the full in 2008, I wasn't able to spend much time there because my whole family was with me and waiting so I had to speed up the browsing. This time, I checked it out solo so I took my sweet old time.
After I picked up my two race bibs and got the Goofy wristband slapped on my wrist, I hit the expo which was in a different building (different from 2008 when it was all in the same place). I then got a cute little mesh bag filled with my three awesome race shirts. That's right - THREE!!! I love the Goofy Challenge.
First, we got a navy blue long sleeve tech shirt for the Goofy Challenge - the 5 is because it's the 5th anniversary of the race.
And then we also got two long sleeve white tech shirts - one for the full (with Mickey) and one for the half (with Donald). Notice how they list the parks from the respective courses on the sleeves of the shirts.
I really love these shirts and I think they fit better than my 2008 shirt (which ran a little big).
Now time for shopping!
I already had an idea of things I wanted to pick up based on tweets I had seen from other Goofy runners. I first hit the "official race merchandise" section and although there were lots of cute stuff, I didn't really see anything that I loved. (And when a T-shirt is $35, I better love it, you know?) I was hoping to get a track jacket like the one I got in 2008, but guess what? They were already sold out of all of their track jackets! Keep in mind, the expo opened Thursday afternoon and ended Saturday evening. And they were already sold out of merchandise by Friday morning? Poor planning, Disney. But that's OK, I probably didn't need the jacket since I hardly wear my 2008 one. And hello, I just got three awesome race shirts! So I didn't really feel a need to add more to my collection, especially since I was running out of room to store all my running gear at home, anyway.
But I still felt a need to get at least one additional souvenir, so I settled on a Goofy race hat which I am proudly modeling here (taken after the races were run, of course!)
Next, I bought some yurbuds - definitely because I heard about them on Twitter. These things are great. I am constantly having problems with keeping my earbuds in and even experimented with different styles but they would always slip out. Well I got "fitted" for a pair of these while at the expo and they felt nice and snug. A little pricey at $20 but hey since they work, I can't complain.
I also heard about my next purchase on Twitter - the iFitness belt. I didn't really need this product as I already have a running belt to hold crap but this one had more bells and whistles so I figured why not! The iFitness guy said the one I bought was brand new which must be the case because I can't seem to find it on their website. It's like a super version of their neoprene mini-sport belt but this one comes with six external slots on the elastic band for gels (three on each side) and little lace lock thingies to hold your race bib. I got this for $28.
My final expo purchase is something I've always eyed at expos - The Stick! I never felt the need for one since I've got my trusty foam roller at home. However, that thing is not exactly travel-friendly. (Although, believe it or not, I did pack it in my suitcase for the 2007 Chicago marathon!) And since I wanted to make sure I was in tip top shape for the marathon, I got the stick to help work/stretch my leg muscles after the half-marathon. I think this one was around $35.
And as long as I'm discussing running products, there is one other thing I purchased right before I left for Disney. I decided to get a new hydration belt. I had been using the Fuel Belt Helium 4 which hold two bottles in front and two in the back. Well, I never wear bottles in the front because I feel like my arm always bump into them plus I don't like carrying that much liquid on me. I decided to just get a new fuel belt that only has bottle holders in the back so I got the Nathan Speed 2 belt.
I'm so glad I got this as I like it a lot better!
OK, that's it for the product reviews... up next is the WDW Half Marathon race report!
10 comments:
So much fun stuff!! I had to laugh that you packed your foam roller once - I got a stick for Christmas cause I threatened my husband next time we traveled he would have to take it as his "carry on."
I can't wait to read your report - I am 95% set to do it in 2011.
Sweet shirts! Looks like a lot of fun stuff! Can't wait to read the race report!
What a beautiful picture of you! You really scored on your expo shopping. I totally packed my rolling pin to my Dallas race, the security looked at me funny for sure. And I love all 3 shirts. You're still my hero for doing this btw. :D
I love the photos -- let us know how you like each one. Get that race report up soon!
What an awesome expo report. I will just link to yours when I finally get around to getting mine done.
I like the yurbuds, though I'm not convinced they do a whole lot to cut out wind noise (was told it would, but took them for a windy run the other day and still had problems). But they surely don't fall out!
I got a regular ifitness belt (without the gel straps/race number bit). I definitely like it better than my spibelt.
Great product reviews. I've never tried The Stick because I, too, have a foam roller at home. But this would be good for traveling. Also, the fuel belt thing is something I need to invest in. So far I've done okay not having it, but the time is coming when that is changing. Thanks for browsing solo and taking time to tell your thoughts!
So much great stuff and I haven't seen that iFitness belt and it looks so cool!!! WOW! :) You are the first to see it ha ha. I love the hat too. Good souvenir for sure!
Ooooh look at all those shirts! I know it's a pricey race to run but 3 tech shirts? That's awesome.
I really need to get a foam roller, like reall!
Absolutely love the shirts and the product reviews were so helpful. I need new earbuds.
This is awesome . . . so glad I found your blog since now I can study up for my WDW half instead of going in blind (like I totally planned). I can't believe it was so cold. I think Florida, and then I think 85 degrees.
Post a Comment