As soon as I got off of work, I made the drive up to Huntington Beach for the race expo. Per the usual, I took Jamboree Rd down to PCH then turned left on Beach Blvd to enter the parking lot. I drove as close as I could to the expo tent and was able to find a parking spot near the bridge over to the Hyatt Regency Resort. The flow of the expo was relatively the same. Once you enter the tent, you pick up your bib before entering the official merchandise area followed by the booths for the exhibitors. At the back of the tent, just outside was the Longboard Legacy Club area. It was good to see my friend Dennis manning the legacy club table. He was passing out this year's legacy long sleeved cotton t-shirt. They where also selling last year's shirt. They gave out tickets for a couple of complimentary beers in the adjacent beer garden. I passed as I no longer drink alcohol.
I then went back inside the tent to the race shirt area. I bumped into my friend Dexter who was volunteering at the shirt distribution tables. After a brief conversation and a picture, I went through the rest of the expo. I came up to the table that was taking registration for next year's race. Sure I was tempted, but I didn't sign up. I'm seriously thinking about either running only the half marathon next year or maybe just not run it at all. On the way out I got a coconut drink that was produced by a Brazilian company with a location in Irvine. It was called Obrigado. That was one of the few Portuguese words that I know.
Dexter volunteering at the expo
Saturday 2/3
I spent the better part of the day at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. My friend wanted me to buy a Dug with the cone of shame plush for her kid. While I was there I rode the following rides:
Radiator Springs Racer
Toy Story Midway Mania
For lunch, I walked over to Earl of Sandwich and ordered their spicy tuna wrap. I tried their strawberry parfait for the first time. It was pretty darn good! The spicy tuna wrap on the other hand was weird.
After finishing lunch, I hopped on the monorail to go visit Disneyland. Getting off in Tomorrowland, I rode the following rides:
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Star Tours
I started leaving the park just a little before 3 pm. I ate an early dinner at one of my favorite sushi restaurants, Ninja Sushi. On this visit, I ordered their premium sashimi dinner. I normally stay away from raw seafood the night before a marathon, but hey, how can I say no to some delicious sashimi?
Before going to sleep, I laid out my flat runner for my marathon tomorrow. I went with one of my first Marathon Maniacs shirts, the classic yellow t-shirt.
Flat runner
Sunday 2/4
I found street parking just across from the Walmart Neighborhood Market. I stayed in my car and relaxed a bit until it was closer to 5:30 am. I then made the walk over to the Hyatt Regency Resort. As with previous years, I hung out in the lobby to stay out of the cold morning air. I ended up talking to a couple of other participants including a Marathon Maniac that I haven't seen in a while, Dale. The hotel had set up a huge table with bananas with a sign saying that it was complimentary and wishing runners a great race. At first we didn't take any as we weren't hotel guests. However a while later, a hotel employee came by and insisted that we take one. As 6 am approached, Dale and I headed over to the pre-race Marathon Maniacs photo spot on the other side of the bridge.
Dale, Latino Heat, and Ed
Marathon Maniacs
After taking the photo, we parted our separate ways. I used one of the nearby portapotties to empty the bladder one last time before heading over to the starting corral.
Starting corral
The legs felt pretty good for the majority of the first half of the race. However by mile 8, I was already feeling the same nagging issue with my left foot and ankle. As with the norm, I started having trouble mostly during the downhills, but I was still able to keep running as I made my way back onto PCH. It was good to see my friends during that out and back section. I was glad that I was able to get to the halfway point under 2 hrs, but I knew that the second half was going to be bad as my left foot was giving me all sorts of discomfort. My friend snapped a picture of me from the other side of the course during one of my numerous walk breaks.
Already walking
One of the tendon in my left foot was definitely not cooperating, so I had to keep taking walk breaks. Tall Jen caught me around mile 15 or so. She was sick with a bad cough, but she was still moving much better than I was.
Tall Jen passed me
My friend, the Latino Heat, who had been dealing with a knee injury caught up to me before we reached mile 16. It was good to see him doing much better! We were both struggling, so we jogged a little bit together before we hopped on the bike path for the last grueling out and back section.
During the last couple of miles, I bumped into my friend Dexter who was heading out on the out and back while I was headed for the finish line. It was a long day for the both of us. All I wanted to do was to finish somewhere under 5 hrs. I wasn't sure that I would make it as I had to walk quite a bit in that last 10k.
Almost done for me
There was a little hitch in my giddy up
Finish line
Finish: 4:52:31
Click here for my Garmin data.
After crossing the finish line and getting my finisher medal, I bumped into a few of my friends. A couple were friends that I have not seen in a while. They completed the half marathon and just happened to have crossed the finish line shortly after I did. My head was feeling a bit cooked by the sun, so after we got our chocolate milk, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I thought about going into the beer garden, but this year it was a sand bar and I hate getting sand in my shoes. Instead I went inside the tent to go get my extra medals before I forgot.
Surf board medal
California Dreamin'
Surf City/OC Double Dog Dare
After getting my bonus medals, I bumped into a few of my friends sitting in one of the wooden chairs just outside of the tent. It's always great to see my friends at these races. After exchanging our race stories, I excused myself to head on home as I was feeling pretty wiped out from the race. Originally I was planning to hang out with some of my other friends, but all I could think of was getting home and taking a nice long nap. I stopped inside the Hyatt Regency Resort to use their restroom and get cleaned up a bit.
Violeta and her husband
I was so wiped out that I wasn't even up for the normal all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ that I have been eating after running Surf City in the last few years. However I was still hungry for some beef, so along the way home, I stopped in The Habit in Fullerton to get a meal. I got the usual Double Char with cheese and the tempura green beans.
Double Char and green bean tempura
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