"The Expo", Osaka Marathon 2014

If you're interested in finding out about how this race came about, you can check out my previous blog post. This one will be about the Expo.

We arrived in Osaka from Fukuoka the morning of the last day of the expo, it was a Saturday, October 25th, 2014. We made it to our hotel around 11:00AM and unfortunately not able to check into our room yet. We left our luggage with the hotel and we decided to split up, I had planned to about 4 hours total for the expo, it was about a 30 minute train ride away from where we were staying. I wanted my husband and my son to enjoy the city and I also didn't want to be rushed through the expo, as it was my first race in Japan and I didn't know what to expect.

I talked to the concierge to find out exactly what train to take, where to switch trains and how to walk to the INTEX building. I love the subway system in Japan, it is the fastest and easiest way to get around, so that part was easy, but I was concerned about how to get from the train station to the INTEX building. The concierge told me to just follow the sea of people, I was going there the last day in the afternoon, I figured that most had already picked up their packets by the time I got there, so I was still skeptical.

Boy was she right and I wrong, it was literally a sea of people, the trains stop was the very last one of this train line, it was out in the boonies, in the same area as Universal Studios. Needless to say, it was no problem fining the place, and the very first thing I saw when I was approaching the building was the FINISH LINE! That was it, tomorrow at about the same time I was going to cross it no matter what.

The expo started out with picking up your bib and your race shirt, I had ordered a special charity t-shirt as well. For international racers we were required to bring a passport or two pieces of ID, they were very specific about that kind of ID's were needed. After I picked those up along with the race bag and the english version of the Osaka Marathon Guide, I headed to the next room where they only had a couple of vendors, that I picked up some freebies and that seemed to be it. Then I saw the arrows that pointed to outside and as I was trying to find my way back to leave, the arrows took me to another room, but this time it was three times as big as the first and filled with vendors, including their biggest sponsor Mizuno (big fan, by the way).

I picked up a bunch of stuff from here, I had a huge bag filled up. Seemed that the big thing to do there was to have professional photographers take your picture, that you can then retrieve by Facebook or their website. They were nice enough to have english translations of the marketing that shows you how to do that. I took advantage of most of those, I especially liked the Seiko one, where you gave them your estimated finish time and they took a photo with that. I didn't even come close to mine, but that's fine with me.

At the Mizuno area, they had us try on their shoes, this year they didn't have a limited edition Osaka Marathon shoe, which I was really disappointed by, however if you bought a pair of shoes there, they monogrammed it for you, which was really cool. After trying on shoes they gave away nice fabric bracelets and a hand wrap that you can slide your estimated finish time into and it has all the break downs for pacing yourself, I thought that was really cool.

What I realized though is, that they love to give out freebies, but they make you work for it. One station was where they had us follow and exercise routine, the other was filling out paperwork (they skipped me since I didn't have a permanent address in Japan), then we had to try one running shoes and run a circle in them. Asahi was there, they were giving out non alcoholic beer, it was really good and it tasted just like the real thing.

I picked up a few things at the Mizuno store there, I got a little hand towel, pre/post race rain cover and very cool bib clips, I'll share them on a YouTube video, click on the link below to see how cool these things really are. They did have an official Osaka Marathon Store there, however by the time I got there, there were slip pickings, I picked up a button just for a memento.

You can check out my Expo Haul video on YouTube

Once I was done with the expo, they had a very nicely marked course to exit, but before you exit, there was a huge hall filled with food vendors, I mean HUGE. It smelled so good, but I was getting close to my four limit there and I didn't have much cash left over, the only place that took credit cards was the Mizuno store, cash only at the other booths.

And so I made my way back to the train station and off to Takashimaya I went to meet up with my family.

I had a great time and well worth all that time spent there.

Happy running...

Keili

My Running Faves & Must Haves!

Before I start the list, I want to mention that I purchased all of the products below myself and was not compensated by the companies in any way. The products are my opinion only and if you prefer something else or if you have other things that might be beneficial to me and my readers, please leave comments, so we can share our knowledge so we can all have better running experiences.

1) First and foremost I have to say that my Garmin Forerunner 610 watch is something that I could not survive without. Yes, there are lots of free apps for iPhones and I've tried some of them, but without fail non of them are accurate. With my Garmin I always get the same results for distance and it is really easy to navigate. There are lots of awesome features to this watch, but I have to be honest, I really only use the main screen where it tells you what you mileage, time and pace is. That's all I really need, oh and it looks super cute, don't you think!!!!!!!!
My husband got mine at REI, but you can check them out on www.Garmin.com

Image from Garmin.com

2) iPod Nano, this has a special meaning to me. My husband got it for me for Christmas the year I started running and it is engraved with my sons name on it. I have all of my favorite running songs on it and use it for every race. It's my good luck charm :) Click here for my playlist.
Apple.com

Image from head-fi.org

3) Lululemon everything. I just adore this brand so much. Yes, they are expensive, but the quality is amazing and I have had nothing but great experiences while running in Lululemon. Plus, pretty much every clothing item they have is so cute and the colors are always amazing. Also, nobody can look bad in Lululemon leggings, nobody! They fit so perfectly that its hard to resist on buying a pair of Wunder Unders in every color they come.
Lululemon.com (updates every Monday night with new clothing)

Image from Forbes.com

4) My Mizuno running shoes. This is my second pair of running shoes since I started two years ago. I love them so much, they are very supportive yet lightweight. I bought the Wave Inspire 10.

5) Running belt, I bought the iFitness double pouch belt because I don't like to check a bag at races. I keep my phone, car key, credit card, ID and lip palm in one pouch and my energy gels in the other, its perfect to clip my iPod onto and it does not have bounce to it. Its not my favorite belt, however it can hold a lot and that's the reason I picked the iFitness one. I'm on a look out for a new one though, so if you have one that you love, let me know!!!
I bought mine online at http://www.fitletic.com, but they always have booth at the Seattle Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon Expo, I bet you can find them at the larger race Expos.

Image from Pinterest.com

6) Neutrogena Lip moisturizer, this may seem weird for some, but I do have to admit that I have a little bit of an addiction to it. I cannot live without it and if I ever forget to use it, I get super chapped lips. Neutrogena brand is my favorite because its super moisturizing and it lasts for a long time and during runs I'd rather not be re-applying my lip palm every five minutes
I buy these in handfuls since I don't ever want to run out and Bartell Drugs always has them in stock.

Image from Drugstore.com

7) Band Aid blister band aids, I have found that these are the only ones for me that don't slip during races, no matter how long they are. I even use them on my medial malleolus bones (the little bone sticking out of inside of your ankle). The story behind that is that I always run in ankle socks and during my races I tend to hit my medial malleolus bone with my other leg and it hurts so bad. These band aid help it from getting scratched.
I buy this from Rite Aid, but I bet any drugstore would probably have it.

Image from Surgicalsupplyservice.com

8) Energy Gels, I have gone thru a few varieties over the last year that I have been running and truly I don't know if any particular brand is better than others. So I just decided which tastes and goes down the easiest during my races that's what I'm going to use. So far I've really enjoyed Vega gels, unfortunately I have not been able to find this branch in the States, I found it during the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon. I was able to stash some aside for a few races. Once I ran out though, I went for the Honey Stinger Energy Gels, I like the taste of these, but just like any other gel it leaves a weird layer on the top of my mouth and it takes me a few cups of water during the races to wash it down with. My favorite flavors a fruity though (berry, banana, orange, etc), nothing too sweet. I don't like flavors like peanut butter or chocolate.
I buy the Honey Stinger ones from REI, http://vegasport.com/product/endurance-gel/

Image from Grindtv.com

Image from Honeystinger.com

These are always with me when I go to a race, let me know what are your favorites, so I can try something new, you never know, I might just be missing out on something.

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See you at my next race.

Keili