As with last year, I decided to do the race packet pick up today instead of race day. I drove to the Sierra Madre Villa Station out in Pasadena and took the Metro Gold line into Chinatown. I arrived just after 10 am. They had a bike tour that started earlier in the morning with the race packet pick up starting at 10 am. I got my bib, shirt and goodie bag all within 5 minutes. I then hopped in line for the carbo load area. They gave us a very small portion of chow mein in a take-out container. I would need about 10 of those to put a dent in my appetite.
Year of the monkey
Map
My fortune said, "elegant surroundings will soon be yours." I'm not sure what that means. :)
I went through the goodie bag and threw out stuff that I didn't need which were mostly advertisement for other cycling events. One thing I like about this race is that the race shirt is cotton. Polyester tech shirts are overrated! Sure the tech shirts are moisture-wicking, but I still prefer the feel of cotton.
Race shirt
Goodies
Calendar
After visiting the Bruce Lee statue, I checked out all of the booths that were lined along the narrow streets of old Chinatown. I sampled some of the Bruce Tea drinks. Even though the samples were pretty warm from being in the sun, they still tasted pretty good. I'll have to look into buying some since I love tea.
Bruce Lee
After I was done with the expo, I hopped back on the Metro rail and headed home. For the rest of the day I was trying to put a dent in the growler that my coworker had given to me for helping out. My coworkers usually reward me with beer or beef jerky. :)
Before going to sleep, I picked out my clothes for tomorrow's race. I'm thinking that I need to buy a Dodgers visor. I do have a couple of Dodgers hats, but I don't particularly like wearing hats when I run.
Flat runner
Sunday 2/21
Once again I drove out to the Sierra Madre Villa Station to catch the Metro Gold line into Chinatown. I knew I should've loaded my fare yesterday as there was a huge crowd there buying their fare to take the train to the race. They had just finished extending the Gold Line and have been doing test runs, so it was a bit strange to see the train arrive at the platform from the East. I arrived at the Chinatown Station at about 7 am. I made my way to the starting area and got in line to use one of the portapotties. I then made my way to the starting line to check out the opening ceremonies where they would light a bunch of firecrackers. I didn't want to get too close as I remembered the smoke from the firecrackers overtook us last year.
Firecrackers!
Afterwards, I made it to the other side of the road to get a better view of the 5k start. A bunch of my friends were also on that side waiting for the start of the 10k.
5k start
After all of the 5k participants had crossed the mat and were on their way, I got into the corral to wait for the start of the 10k. I didn't want to be stuck behind walkers like last year. However there were still many walkers positioned right in the front row.
10k start
The 10k race was scheduled to start at 8:30 am, but it didn't start until about 10 minutes later. The first few hundred meters involving a lot of zigzagging my way past the walkers. Once I got past them, I settled into a nice comfortable pace. I didn't want to go out too hard or chase anybody as the first half was pretty much all uphill. The course was a little different this year. It kept climbing even after mile 3, so I finally broke down mentally and started walking. When I saw my friend heading down the other side of the road, I knew that the turnaround was just up ahead, so I convinced myself to start running again. The last two miles was pretty much all downhill. I tried to push, but at the same time I didn't want to hurt my sore left foot. I was pretty gassed during the final stretch. I don't think I could've gone much faster with what I had.
Finish line
Finish: 49:52
Click here for my Garmin data.
My goal for the race was to just finish under 50 minutes. I made it, but the race was short by .2 miles. Oh well, it turned out to be a good hill and speed training run. After getting my medal, I skipped getting a banana and a bottle of water. Instead I made a beeline for the beer garden. While in line, I had a pretty good conversation with someone that used to train with the Pasadena Pacers. I got my IPA and a fortune cookie before I started searching for my friends that had run the 5k.
Post race
My fortune said, "your hard work is about to pay off." Most of my "hard" work lately have been resting and drinking a bunch of beer. So I'm going to have to disagree with this fortune unless it means that I'm going to gain a bunch of weight. :)
I was able to find my friends in a corner right next to the Bruce Lee poster. After finishing my first beer, I waded through the crowd back to the beer table to grab another beer. They were starting to be swamped so they didn't see me sneak back into the line. They were turning people away that were attempting to use an extra beer ticket. I think they need a better system or a different venue. The beer garden has been pretty packed the two times that I've run this race.
Beer garden with friends
At about 11 am, we left the beer garden and made our way to Philippe the Original for an early lunch. Per the usual, the place was packed and the lines were long. I got the beef dip with Jack cheese. I also got a side of potato salad and a Red Trolley Ale to go with the sandwich. We were able to find a table for all of us upstairs.
Beef dip with Jack cheese, potato salad, and Red Trolley Ale
After running this race two years in a row, I think I'll make running this race an annual tradition. Even with the glitches here and there, I think it's a good change of pace from running marathons and a pretty fun event. I really want to run it for the year of the tiger, my zodiac animal.
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