People who know me would know that I hate the beach. In particularly the sand. But I'd do just about anything for charity.
Manhattan BeachMy right leg has a lot of issues, so I knew it would take me a while to cover 26.2 miles. I kind of already had in the back of my mind that I would just drop at the half so I would be able to see Sam finish his epic quest.
The race started promptly at 7:30am. I started off at a low 8 min pace. There were no mile markers and I don't wear a GPS watch, so I have no idea what was my exact pace. I made sure I did not accelerate as I had just strained my hamstring 2 days prior. Things were going ok up to the first turnaround. But shortly thereafter things started to go wrong. GI issues and right hamstring tightness were the first things to hit. You go to the well too many times and eventually you'll come up empty. The legs just did not want to go. The right hip got very tight so I just started walking a lot. When I ran, it felt like the right leg was going to fall off. I tried to rally for a sub 2 finish, but there was nothing there. I was kind of upset having to drop out at the half.
DNF 13.1 miles - 2:03:07
It was cool to see the race getting some media attention from channel 4! I usually watch channel 7 so I kept thinking the reporter was Gordon Tokumatsu when in fact he was Ted Chen. Opps, my bad. All Asians look a like, right? :)
Ted Chen from Ch4 interviewing TiffanyWhile waiting for Sam to finish, I took a few pictures of my maniac friends. Ed is a running machine. Nothing can stop this guy. Danica jumped for my camera, but I was unable to capture it in time.
Ed finishing the 1st half of his marathon
Danica finishing the half marathonThe first place marathoner came in at about 3:07. It turns out he was the guy that set the world record for the most miles ran on sand in a 24 hour period.
I snapped a photo of Sam heading for the finish line with Jack. I'm glad I was able to catch this moment. If I had gone back out to slug through the 2nd half, I would've missed it. There's always a silver lining. After a brief interview with Ted Chen, his wife Tiffany hands him a nice trophy for completing his epic quest.
Sam finishing No 61 with Jack
Ted Chen interviews Sam
The rest of the Felsenfeld family
61. Done.
Congratulations graffiti signThe post race celebration meal was held at the nearby Four Daughters Kitchen. I tried to wait for everyone to show up, but I got too hungry. I ordered the Leila's famous burger and a root beer. I ate it all while waiting for everyone else. It was a good delicious burger and the fries were good as well. I hung out for a little bit before making the drive home.
Leila's famous burger at Daughters Kitchen
Shirt and medalIt was pretty cool to see this little piece during a news segment after my morning run. Even though I could not complete my own race, it was really cool to see Sam complete his quest and to be part of his mission to bring more awareness to Autism. I really hope that this is just the beginning of something big.
1 comment:
I just learned two new things about you. I didn't realize you don't like the beach and don't run with a Garmin. Sorry things did not work out as planned as far as running the full goes. Sounds like you made the best of the day and got to spend time with some amazing running friends. :) I was hoping to make it out for that but it didn't work out.
Post a Comment