part I: transamerica & rock n roll san francisco weekend {expo}

I didn’t really know what to expect going into my weekend with Transamerica and Rock n Roll.  I was excited about the opportunity but (kind of) nervous about running a half-marathon.  It would be my longest run to date.

The weekend was even better than I could’ve dreamed!  From the expo, to the interviews, the entire crew, all of the runners, and the actual race, Rock n Roll San Francisco was the perfect place for my racing debut.

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I started the weekend with interviews and photos with Steve from You & Me Productions.  This is the first in a series of interviews that will follow my journey throughout the year.   The interview took place on a Trolley Car – an iconic piece of San Francisco history.  Next I headed to the expo; expos are one of my favorite things about race weekend.  I love the energy, I love the runners, and I love being a part of this unique community!  I worked the Transamerica booth and had a chance to talk with runners and family members.  People had a chance to guess how many runners I would pass, and it was fun to hear their guesses.  Some people asked a lot of questions: “How fast are you?, What time do you hope to finish?, Have you ever run a half-marathon?, What’s your fastest time? How many people do you think you will pass? How many people are running the race?” and others just picked a random number and wrote it down.  Here are a few of my favorite guesses: A LOT!, 1 billion, 50,000, zero (this person didn’t have any faith in me, ha!); I also got a lot of very precise guesses – 5127, 7342, 9,682, etc.  I finished the day with an interview with Joe from The Marathon Show.  He’s a great guy and it was fun to finally meet him (I’ve been seeing him at expos for years!).

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I headed to the expo again on Saturday.  The day started with a Q&A session, hosted by John “The Penguin” Bingham and myself.  I had a chance to talk about the Transamerica Tomorrow Chaser program and why I’m so excited to partner with Transamerica.  More than anything, I love being a part of something that creates better tomorrows for people!  After the Q&A session I headed back to the booth for more guessing games and interaction with runners.  I had a chance to (finally) meet Sheena from SheenaBean13 and Daniel from Daddy’s Running, plus some many others that had heard about the Tomorrow Chaser program or “knew” me from my blog.  It was fun to connect with so many different people.

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The Penguin, John Bingham

DaddyRunning

BJ, LJ, and I had a chance to explore the city after the expo each day.  We took long walks, ate at cool restaurants, and even found the best Tequila bar for miles.  I’m really thankful that they were able to come and be a part of this special (and important) weekend.   It was fun to spend time with Transamerica and my family.

On Saturday night, we had an opportunity that will likely never happen again: attend a party on the top floor of the Transamerica Pyramid.  Wow!  What an incredible view of the city – and beyond – from the 48th floor of this iconic building.  It was such a cool experience.

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After the party, BJ, LJ, and I headed back to the hotel for race prep and bedtime.  The weather was expected to be beautiful for race day and I had everything ready to go: shorts, Transmerica jersey, running shoes, socks, garmin, sunglass, and honey stingers (plus all of my pre-race clothes and of course, my breastpump #momproblems).  I was ready and excited for race day.  More than anything, I couldn’t wait to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

My guess for race day was between 4,000 – 5,000 runners passed (which would equal $4-5,000 for St. Jude).  My secret-don’t-tell-anybody goal was to pass 6,000 runners.  What’s your guess?!

To be continued…

Read Part II to find out how much money I raised, and read my race report.

 

For more info and miles, check out: TransamericaRock n Roll, and {will run for margaritas}

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Transamerica
Twitter: @Transamerica
Pinterest: http://tr.pinterest.com/transamerica/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RnRMarathonSeries
Twitter: @runrocknroll
Instagtram: runrocknroll
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/runrocknroll/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willrunformargaritas
Twitter: @run4margaritas
Instagram: http://web.stagram.com/n/run4margaritas
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/run4margaritas/

 

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Comments

  1. This is so awesome…I’m waiting on pins and needles to find out how many you passed!!

  2. So glad to finally get the chance to meet you! 🙂

  3. Sounds like an amazing weekend!! Can’t wait for the race report, even though I already know you kicked a$$ 🙂

  4. It sounds like it was a great time! So excited to read part 2!

  5. I already know how awesome you did so it’s cool to hear that you far surpassed your goal! You haven’t chronicled much your return to running and racing (apart from the fact that it was intentionally slow in the beginning) and I would love to hear more about that!

  6. Bill Kitchens says

    4200 based on my guess you will run 1:40….now to check the website for results.
    Congratulations on being selected!

  7. Ah! This is all so exciting. I’m so glad you got to participate and I had no idea your family was attending. What is up with someone guessing ZERO? I hope you passed that person =)

  8. Tasha @ Healthy Diva says

    I loved being in San Francisco last year. It was one of my favorite racecations. So many fun things to do. I literally wore out a pair of Tom’s from all the walking we did. I was just thinking it’s crazy how much we change in a year. I never would have thought last year that I would be about ready to pop with a baby girl this year. 🙂
    I already know how awesome you did, but I’m still excited to read part 2!

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