Why was I repeating a marathon that I've already ran in Texas? Well, as a part of my marathon maniac farewell tour, I would qualify for the Rock Idol medal before this year was over. This race was a late add-on when the New Year's Eve half marathon race was cancelled. I flew out of John Wayne airport early Saturday morning. I got to see the new terminal C. Everything looked and smelled so new. Light rain was coming down as we flew off to where it would be sunny and warm.
Southwest - flying out of SNA
I had to find ways to save money while on this trip. One way was to take public transportation. I took the bus for $1.10 from the airport to downtown San Antonio. I hiked over to the expo at the Alamodome. Since I was here last year, everything looked very familiar. It always helps to know your way around.
I went through the expo picking up the usual freebies... Sports Beans, Larabars. I took a picture with Miss Texas. She was tall, I was surprised when she got up from where she was sitting. I told her that I had met one of her competition, Miss California, a couple of weeks earlier. I saw a few shirts that I would've bought if I hadn't already own a gazillion race shirts.
Expo
Miss Texas Kendall Morris
I run so I don't kill people :)
Triathlon
Another way to save money was to stay at a Motel 6. But it was a long walk to the outskirts of downtown. Along the way, I stopped in a Dollar General to buy some snacks. The room wasn't bad, but it was definitely in a not-so-nice area. The McDonald's next door had a security guard. Eating at McDonald's for my carboload meal was yet another way to save money. I seem to be having bad luck as of late with TV remotes. I had to go to the front desk to get some new batteries. I laid everything out and went to sleep pretty early.
Motel 6
Shirt and goodies
Carboloading McRunner style
Race day
I left for the little hike to the starting line a little after 6am. I didn't see other fellow runners until I got closer to the Riverwalk area. Some of the people headed to work waiting for buses were really staring down the female runners wearing tutus. Keep it in your pants boys! It seems like that look is a bit overdone these days. It may be the norm these days in the running world, but it is definitely weird to the non-running world.
I sat down at the curb in front of the UPS truck in the gear check area. The place was a zoo. For some reason everyone funneled through this area. At about 7, I checked my bag and headed for the corrals. Out of sheer coincidence, I bumped into a few of my friends. I ducked into corral 11 and stood in a portapotty line. For some reason the doors were facing inward towards the corral this year. This made it difficult as no one really knew who was in line. I made it with a few minutes to spare. I stayed in the very back of the corral.
Corral 11
The race
Again the right leg was noticeably better. But I just stuck to the jog and walk plan. I knew the weather was going to get hot, but I still wanted to try and finish around 6 hrs. In the second half, I had to slow things down. The heat was getting to me. I was getting cooked and started to feel a bit confused. People liked the Team Beef jersey in Texas. In the late miles, I walked a little bit with a girl wearing a No Meat Athlete shirt. She went on ahead of me. In the final mile, I tried to catch her. I almost caught her down the finishing chute which gave the people some laughs as John "the Penguin" Bingham pointed out that the No Meat Athlete was finishing followed closely by a guy with Team Beef. :)
1: 10:51
2: 11:05
3: 11:42
4: 11:27
5: 12:26
6: 11:47
7-8: 24:03 (12:01)
9: 12:31
10: 13:02
11: 13:49
12: 14:07
13: 15:08
14: 14:41
15: 15:50
16: 14:55
17: 18:27
18: 17:01
19: 17:34
20: 18:06
21: 18:35
22: 17:53
23: 18:05
24: 18:22
25: 18:56
26: 17:28
26.2: 3:01
Finished: 6:30:54
Post race
That was my 66th overall marathon and 12th of the year. Too bad it took me almost 2 hours longer than last year. I drank about 3 handhelds worth of fluids and never once did I have to pee during the race. There was no Cytomax at the finish area. I was cramping up during my walk over to the gear check area which was an ordeal in itself to get to after the race. You had to walk up and down a bunch of stairs. Not very fun after a marathon.
But I was prepared, I had some Powerade in my gear bag. I sat down in a shaded area and drank my Powerade. I really had no choice as every single leg muscle was seizing up. After resting a little while, everything was good again. I then made the long hike back to the motel. Again, I stopped by the Dollar General store to pick up some recovery snacks. I love Funyuns and Coke!
Go Beef!
Finisher's medal
Recovery snacks
My steak dinner was the only thing I didn't go cheap on. I ate at Saltgrass Steakhouse for my ribeye steak. I also had a Shiner Bock which took forever to show up. The steak was good. I was definitely zoning out as I was having a hard time comprehending the waitress' questions. :) I took a different route back to the motel. Along the way, I noticed that a lot of the streets were dark and the buildings were empty. I was thankful that I made it back in one piece. I kept thinking that at least there's a hospital nearby the motel.
Saltgrass Steakhouse
House salad
Shiner Bock bread
Shiner Bock beer
Pat's 16oz ribeye
The next morning, I ate at McDonald's before checking out and heading out for a little bit of sightseeing. I walked through the Riverwalk area and ended up at the Alamo. Walking through the Riverwalk and the Alamo area always reminds me of a movie in the 80's, Cloak & Dagger, which had a few scenes in this area. I took a few obligatory pictures of the Alamo and went through a souvenir shop. If I come back to San Antonio, I'll have to make the time to visit the Tower of the Americas. I then walked over to the bus stop to catch the bus to the airport. While waiting, I noticed that about 90% of the bus riders were smokers. I first sat at the bus bench, but I had to move because I was being smoked out. I guess it was a small price to pay for saving money.
Sausage egg McGriddles with cheese
The Alamo Cenotaph
The Alamo Cenotaph
The Alamo
Close enough? :)
Tower of the Americas
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