I was not able to attend the expo on Friday, so I went on Saturday. I did my usual routine for visiting downtown LA. I parked my car at the Metro station in Pasadena and took the light rail into downtown. I paid $6 for a TAP card and an all-day pass. I rode the gold line to Union Station, then red/purple line to 7th St/Metro Center, then blue line to Pico.
Using public transportation is a good way to save money, but one of the downsides is all of the freaks that you get to see along the way. There was one paranoid rider who accused everyone around him of staring at him. Of course I had to stare since he started berating each passenger, most of them I would bet did not understand English. Next time, I'm bringing a book for the ride.
I walked over to the LA Convention Center and found the Rock n Roll expo in the same location as last year. I picked up my bib and shirt. Then went through the expo just to browse. I bumped into a few of my friends and was about to leave for lunch, but decided to stay a bit to listen to Deena Kastor. She's one of my favorite professional athletes and she's near the end of her career. Before Deena was up, I got to listen to Frank Shorter talk about doping in professional sports. It was the first time he was able to openly comment on the issue of Lance Armstrong. Lance may have done a lot of charity work since retiring from professional cycling, but there was no doubt that he cheated during competition.
Frank Shorter
Deena Kastor
I left before Deena was done talking because I saw a maniac friend walk by and wanted to say hi. Also I was getting hungry and needed to start heading back to my car. I drove over to the Westfield mall next to the Santa Anita race track to eat at the McDonald's in their food court. I had free coupons for a quarter pounder with cheese and medium fries, so all I paid for was a filet o' fish sandwich.
Quarter pounder with cheese, filet o' fish, and medium fries
I love this race mostly because of the course. It takes you to parts of downtown LA where the old LA Marathon used to go. Competitor Group has gotten rid of the shuttle up to Griffith Park since taking over this race. They have also made it a Halloween themed race. I wore my superman running outfit for this race. I ironed on the emblem for the cape. I'm still looking to improve on the top. The shirt is cotton and I don't really like the red border. Also I'm trying to stop wearing singlets as I have burnt my shoulders one too many times. It is covered with too many freckles.
Race day
Just like last year, I got ready at Chick Hearns' desk right next to the UPS trucks. I filled my handheld with Powerade, put on my cape, dropped off my bag, and headed over to the starting corrals. While waiting for the start of the race, it was a hoot seeing all of the different costumes. I even got to see Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Unfortunately Mr. Spock was having difficulty forming the "live long and prosper" hand sign.
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock!
"Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast." - Emil Zatopek
The race
I started in corral 4 with my friend. We ran together for the first mile, but she was trying to get rid of her Halloween candy so I took off on her. As the norm, she would catch me later in the race around mile 9. This race was mostly a comeback run for me. I took two weeks off with absolutely no running at all to rest the sore butt. The first 5 miles felt really good while following the 1:45 pace group. But all of sudden the wheels came off. I pretty much hit the wall before I even got to mile 6. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was struggling but it was fun to run through the 3rd St tunnel. It didn't help that the day was getting very sunny and warm! By the time I got to mile 9, I was slowed to a walk. I tried to jog as much as I could to try and finish under 2 hrs, but by around the mile 10 turn around my legs started to cramp. I knew getting under 2 hrs was out the window at this point. Thankfully after climbing that hill, the rest of the way to the finish was all downhill.
Female elite pack
(picture from Ricardo Ramirez)
Approaching the finish line
(picture from Stephanie B.)
1: 8:11
2: 8:03
3: 8:15
4: 8:23
5: 8:54
6: 9:04
7: 9:45
8: 9:31
9: 10:34
10: 10:54
11: 10:35
12: 10:48
13: 11:24
13.1: 0:56
Finish: 2:05:16
Post-race
I think if the day hadn't gotten so hot, I would've finished under 2 hrs without having to deal with cramps. You just can't fake fitness. I definitely lost some by doing nothing but rest for 2 weeks. No matter how poorly I ran, it was still better than last year's 3:21:08 hobblefest. My bowling/TNT friend finished around the same time that I did. We went to get our free beer and then our bags from gear check. He was still trying to get me to join the IronTeam to train for an Ironman Triathlon. After talking a while about our future races, we then parted ways. I started heading back to the Metro station while cheering for those that were finishing. Along the way, I saw a group of Elvi. My friend was one of them. They are actually all very good runners, but they weren't running when I saw them. They were providing on course entertainment.
Finish line
Elvi!
I got back to my car and headed over to Taisho in Monrovia to eat a quick lunch. I almost always order a combo bowl (chicken, beef short ribs, and vegetables) with no sauce. It's nothing spectacular, but it's good recovery food and cheap.
No comments:
Post a Comment