MCM race expo aka SWAG!

I was able to telecommute today, thank you very much new job!  Aside from the home office dress code being awesome, telecommuting also gave me the chance to hit up the marathon race expo for my packet and some great goodies!  Once I had my bib and race shirt in hand, it was time to hit up the giant Brooks Running section for some finisher's gear.  Now, I know, I haven't finished yet.  But I didn't want to miss out on something awesome to commemorate the occasion. You name it, it was there and had the MCM logo on it. Price tag be damned, I settled on a wind and water resistant jacket with reflective flair, the MCM logo on the back, and the name and date on the front.  Go on, be jealous!

After sampling an endless array of energy bars, I discovered that Nuun had a booth and immediately checked them out.  They had giant coolers full of all their great flavors, ready to be sampled. I was really happy to see that I could try the grape because I couldn't find it in a store and buying a four pack online without a taste test wasn't ideal. Turns out the grape, among many other flavors, was delicious! And they were selling tubes at a discount, so I bought 2.  That earned a free Nuun water bottle that they let me fill up from the coolers and off I went, hydrated and ready for more swag scores!

I scored free Sport Beans samples from Jelly Belly, a reusable shopping bag from Disney, and a little pouch for gels to attach to my fuel belt. All my favorite companies had booths, including Zensah, Saucony, and Nathan. If I hadn't already dropped some cash on the killer jacket I probably would have ended up with a new fuel belt, they were all 20% off.  I'm glad I went this morning, as it was getting crowded by 11:30 a.m when I left and I'm sure tomorrow will be even crazier with all the out-of-towners. I also got a bunch of info on different races for 2012, including what sounds like a great trail race in the Berkshires over Memorial Day weekend. The race shirt is nice, bright red with logo and date embroidered on the front and a huge MCM symbol and lettering on the back.

Most important, that precious bib number.  I'll be putting together my bag tonight and tomorrow, as I get everything assembled.  I'm feeling a bit scatterbrained right now, so this might take a while.  For the seasoned veterans, please tell me what not to forget! The weather is going to be chilly, which I am a littler nervous about.  I don't have any throwaways, something I might have to head out and find tomorrow. Doing a load of laundry tonight and getting all my race day gear clean. My family arrives tomorrow and they are in charge of keeping me occupied without going crazy or actually expending any effort.  Good luck, suckers. I hope to post once more before the big day, in the mean time please leave me any advice you've got!