I recently purchased the wear blue: run to remember shirt to honor the fallen. I first saw them at the Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon a few years ago. I decided to wear this shirt for tomorrow's Memorial Day half marathon. It was the very least that I could do to show my appreciation for their sacrifice while defending our freedom and way of life.
Monday 5/30
Registration didn't open until 5:30 am, so I timed it so that I would arrive at the Laguna Hills Malls just a little before 5:30 am. Parking was easy, but all of the good spots were already starting to fill up. I walked over to the registration area and picked up my bib, race shirt, and a trucker's cap. After getting back to my car, I recognized someone that was parked nearby. It was Pony Espresso, a fellow Marathon Maniac and one of the few remaining legacy runners for the Los Angeles Marathon. I talked with him and his buddy for a little bit before going back to my car to get ready.
They had a short tribute to remember the fallen at 6:50 am and the race started promptly at 7 am. My goal for the race was to see if my ailing body parts were getting better. I figured with my current trend, I should finish around 2:10, but I was hoping that I could push for something under 2 hrs. For the first 10k, I felt like my old self, but it quickly fell apart and became a struggle from there. I was overheating by mile 8. I was passed by my friend pacing the 2 hr group and I had to walk to cool down. We had overcast weather, but it felt a bit humid.
Finish: 2:10:15
Click here for my Garmin data.
2005: 2:20:49 (My very first half marathon!)
2006: 2:27:21
2007: 2:02:57
2008: 1:57:44 (First time breaking 2 hrs)
2010: 1:58:45
2011: 2:12:38
2015: 1:51:57
My friends were standing next to the finishing chute to watch people finish. I told them that I would meet up with them in the beer garden. First I wanted to check out the expo and say hi to my good friend at the WE ROCK (We run Orange County's Kids) booth. Everything at the expo was geared towards fun for kids even with the Dark Horse Battalion where they let you climb into their vehicles and check out some of their weapons.
USMC Dark Horse Battalion
The beer garden was just as it was last year. It was not free. You can pay $10 for 4 tasters from a handful of good craft breweries. I ended getting two more tickets from a fellow runner that was leaving and wasn't going to use all of them. Here's what I ended up drinking...
Stadium Brew Co.: Equinox IPA, Blueberry Lager
Left Coast Brewing: ??? I think it was a lager, but not the amber lager.
Bootleggers Brewery: Far Out IPA, Seasonal Ale.
Golden Road 2020 IPA
I think more beer gardens after races should be like this one. I'd rather pay and drink a small sampling of the good stuff than to drink a lot of free bad beer. Quality over quantity... I'm hoping to change my racing to that line of thinking in the near future. It was also fun making new friends while in the beer garden.
Friends in the beer garden, photo from Jesus R.
After we were done relaxing and catching up in the beer garden, we headed over to the shuttle stop to grab a ride back to our cars. We drove across the parking lot to eat lunch at In-n-Out which is quickly starting to become a tradition at this race. My buddy Mitch bought me two Double Doubles for a ride back to his apartment. I would've done it for free since it wasn't really out of the way. :)
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