I left work at noon on Friday to attend the expo. I parked at the usual Downtown Disney parking lot and walked over to the Convention Center next to the Disneyland Hotel. I first picked up my bib and Coast-to-Coast bracelet before going up to the expo floor to pick up my shirt and goodie bag. I was able to meet up with my Marathon Maniac buddies, Casey and Mitch.
"CH" Maniacs
Coast to Coast bracelet
I left the expo at about 1pm. I normally eat lunch at around 11am, so I was starving. I drove out to Gomen in the nearby city of Stanton to eat a bowl of ramen. I've been wanting to check out this place for quite some time. Too bad the weather was getting pretty warm. Ramen tastes way better when the weather is cold or frigid. Everyone working in the restaurant including the cook were Japanese. That's a good sign that the food was authentic. The fried rice was decent and the ramen was not bad. I'll have to come back and eat some of the other menu items.
Tonkotsu shio ramen with half order fried rice
Saturday carbo-load
For lunch, I went to one of my favorite ramen shops, What's Up Men, to eat some ramen. I like their kurobuta sausages. I also got some edamame. For my ramen, I got the Cha miso ramen with eggs and the fried rice lunch combo. This meal really hit the spot. If I could, I would eat here everyday.
Edamame and kurobuta sausages
Fried rice
Cha miso ramen added egg
Sunday race day!I pulled into the Mickey and Friends parking structure at about 3:30am. For the second year in a row, they gave me complimentary race parking. Last year, the parking ticket did not specify that it was for runDisney volunteers. This year it did. So I guess it literally pays to show up early! I'm still not sure why they gave it to me because I always show up that early for the Disneyland Half Marathon, but have never been given free parking for that race. Oh well, I'm definitely not complaining since parking is about $15 these days.
Free parking!
I used the restroom near the escalators, got my stuff ready, and started heading to the starting area. As I was more than halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten my salt tabs. I know it's only a half marathon, but I'm pretty legendary with my debilitating leg cramps. So I had to turn around and hoof it back to my car to get them. I then jogged to the starting area. I guess I got my warm-up done. I put on my wings and checked my bag at the gear-check tent and headed to the corrals. I bumped into my friend who decided to join me in corral C.
Starting line
Tink sending us off!
At about 5:10am, our corral was released. Just like last year, it was a crowded mess because they continue to put the fastest males in corral C. I'm not even fast and it's already a pain in the butt for me to run that first mile. I decided to take it in stride and just run comfortably with minimal zig-zagging because my right ankle has been feeling sore since having come off of the Goofy Challenge last weekend. I also decided not to stop for pictures. This race was for the women, I don't need to clog up their lines for photos. I finally caught my friend Casey at around mile 12. The finish was a bit deceptive. As we approached you thought you were finishing, but there was still a little out-and-back portion for about half a mile before we made the final turn for the finish line. One of my marathon maniac friends was cheering at the final stretch. She was also at around the 10k mark.
1: 8:50
2: 8:43
3-4: 17:21 (8:41)
5: 8:27
6: 8:22
7: 8:51
8: 8:59
9: 9:20
10: 9:08
11: 9:30
12: 9:07
13: 8:19
13.1: 0:40
Finish: 1:55:35
I picked up my Tinker Bell medal as well as my Coast-to-Coast medal. They cut off the bracelet in exchange for the extra medal. At the finisher's photo line, I bumped into the Marathon Maniac that I had met last weekend at Disney World. What a coincidence. I also took a picture with my friend Casey before I took off. I picked up a pre-packaged snack box, water, and a banana. After grabbing my gear bag, I put away the wings and put on my jacket as it was a bit chilly. I ate the banana on my way back to the car.
New maniac friend
Peter Pan and an orange fairy
Post race stage
The organization of this race was phenomenal. It doesn't get any better than this which is why Disney is so popular. But alas the one big deterrent to this race is the price tag. Disney magic never comes cheap! This was only the 2nd edition of this race and I'm not sure if I want to continue to be a legacy runner. Being a legacy runner with the Disneyland Half Marathon is already plenty expensive.
The goods
Yeah, I'll probably be back
I stopped by the supermarket to pick up some orange juice, water, and snacks. For the first time in a while, I bought some spicy beef jerky. It tasted really good, but I still want to make an effort on eating food with a lot of added preservatives. Later in the afternoon, I drove back to What's Up Men to eat another bowl of ramen. This time I got the kuro shoyu ramen.
Recovery protein
Recovery meal - Kuro shoyu ramen
No comments:
Post a Comment