First, congratulations to all Boston Marathon runners from Monday! Especially my coach and teammates, Brian, Carol, and Amanda who set a new PR! I loved watching all the coverage on TV and tracking everyone virtually.

Sorry for the delayed post. It was a busy week at work. I worked 9 straight days and in the middle of that, I was furiously trying to pack and organize everything for the race (and P.S. packing in a rush is a bad idea, I already realized that I left a couple of items at home). We made it into London yesterday morning and after a short stop at the hotel to check-in, grab some lunch, and a short nap, our first stop was the expo.

I love London and how it easy it is get around. We made it to ExCeL in 30 minutes from Central London. I’m very glad we went to the expo on the first day as it wasn’t terribly crowded. I picked up my bib, timing tag for the shoe, and kitbag easily. We walked through the whole expo and I even partook in some of the picture spots and booths.

I loved seeing the World Marathon Majors exhibits especially the one with the finisher names of those who participated in London and the other World Majors. Someone will need to run the London Marathon next year and send me a picture of the wall with my name on it. I took a picture of everyone who finished all the majors. That’s a big goal of mine, though I’m sure it will be a little while before I make it on that list. Also, there was a booth for a virtual mile on a treadmill for the World Major Marathons. So cool, too bad (or maybe better for me) I didn’t have running shoes on otherwise, I would have accumulated too many extra miles yesterday.

I purchased the jacket that I was eyeing (I will share a picture when I wear it after the race). I even sampled the Lucozade (Gatorade equivalent) and water that will be available on the course. After spending almost 2 hours walking around, we were both exhausted and made our way back for dinner.

What a great first day in London. More to come!