I watched the Spurs vs. Cardiff match before getting ready for the drive out to the Long Beach Convention Center for the expo. I parked at the usual City Place lot C off of 3rd St to take advantage of the free 2 hrs parking. New for this year's expo was having to go through metal detectors before entering the convention center. Thankfully they had a separate line for those that did not have a bag which moved marginally faster.
Metal detectors :(
I got there just a few minutes before 10:30 am and the place was packed. New for this year's packet pick-up was that you were assigned a bib number at the expo so you could get into any of the lines. Since I was a Beach Bum runner, I got into the line for that which happened to be very long. Once I got up to the table they assigned me a marathon bib and placed a Beach Bum sticker on it. They also wrote the number of years that I've been a Beach Bum on the sticker.
Bib pick-up
The next step was to pick up my race shirt. I thought the design wasn't too bad, but overall it looked a bit gloomy and boring printed on a dark grey shirt.
Race shirt, front
Race shirt, back
After that I went into the Beach Bum area to make sure I pick up my annual gift before I forget. This year instead of another shirt, it was a nice metal water bottle. It's always good to receive something useful. Nearby was the wall with all of the names of the participants. I found my name before checking out the rest of the expo.
Beach Bum
Participant name wall
I begrudgingly got in the long line to purchase parking for tomorrow. I decided to pay $12 for City Place lot C instead of $15 for Pike Parking because that's where I normally park for this race. In years past, I was always able to pre-purchase parking online. When it was my turn, I handed the lady a $20 bill. She gave me 2 fives and 3 ones which was $13. I gave $5 back to her and she looked perplexed. She did the same thing to my friend that was next in line. We both concluded that the lady probably failed math and was only collecting $7 from everyone else that was ahead of us if they paid with a $20 bill.
After that I stopped by the Long Beach Marathon booth to register for next year's race. Originally I was going to just register for the half marathon, but I changed my mind last minute and registered for the full marathon. The price for the full marathon was $99. However Beach Bums were given a $10 discount. The rep there had to enter the code, probably so it doesn't get shared with non Beach Bums. The total came out to be $97.53 with the processing fees added in. They were giving out a white Long Beach Marathon buff for those that register for next year's race.
Expo stuff
On my way out, I spotted my fellow Marathon Maniac friends hanging out in the Beach Bum area. We took a quick pic before I had to leave as my free 2 hrs was just about up. While walking back to the parking structure, I was stopped by an older lady with a walker. She asked me if I could spare a dollar. It just so happened that I had a few dollars as change from paying for tomorrow parking pass, so I gave it to her. If you know me, you would know that I hardly ever carry any cash let alone small bills. I guess it was her lucky day. :)
My Marathon Maniac friends
For dinner, I went out with the folks to eat some noodles at the local Chinese restaurant, NOODLEMii. I got the usual #1 House Bowl with small egg noodles.
Dinner
I laid out my flat runner before hitting the hay. I would be wearing this new Marathon Maniacs singlet for the first time.
Flat runner
Sunday 10/7
I arrived at the same parking structure as yesterday at about 5:15 am. I grabbed my stuff and started heading to the starting area. I bumped into my friend Deo just as I turned onto Pine Ave. We walked together and arrived at the start line just as few of the Marathon Maniacs had gathered for the traditional pre-race photo.
Marathon Maniacs pre-race photo
Start line
Waiting in the start corral
The race started at about 10 minutes after 6 am. We took the familiar out and back on Shoreline Dr before turning South along Queens Way. This year the course sort of covered the same streets but instead of continuing East on Queensway Dr, we heading West on S Harbor Scenic Dr. Instead of running up to Ocean Blvd, we took a u-turn onto Queensway Dr. We stayed on that road looping back to Queens Way after reaching Harry Bridges Memorial Park. After crossing the bridge again and reaching Shoreline Dr, we made a right turn. That was followed by another right turn on Aquarium Way which turned into Golden Shore. We ran a short little out and back after going underneath the Queens Way bridge. From then on it was pretty much the same course as it has been in the past couple of years. We started running on the bike path along the perimeter of the ShoreLine Aquatic Park. My faster friend known as Latino Heat caught me just as we were about to get back onto Shoreline Dr. I ran a little bit with him. We made a right on Shoreline Village Dr and ran around the turnabout at Marina Parking Dr.
Running with the Latino Heat turning on Shoreline Village Dr
We then turned into the parking lot heading for the dreaded Shoreline Way beach path. That was when I dropped off on the pace to give my left ankle a break as it was starting to bother me. I got to see a couple of my friends sitting along the side of the course waiting for the start of their half marathon. It's always nice to see my friends at the races. We were on that concrete bike path for almost 4 miles before getting off and going onto Ocean Blvd where they were passing out donut holes. We ran along Ocean Blvd, making a right turn onto Livingston Dr which eventually curves left into Nieto Ave. Once we reached Will Rogers Mini Park, we zigzagged over for an out-and-back along E Paoli Way. I got through the halfway point at 2:02:39.
The second half was pretty much a run out to Cal State Long Beach for a loop around the campus before heading back to the finish line. I was actually doing pretty well with the pacing until the legs started cramping up during that campus loop. So from miles 18 on to the finish, I had to walk a lot to keep the legs from locking up. I bumped into my friend Dexter between miles 21 and 22 on Clark Ave. We stopped for a quick pic. He happened to be running at about the same pace as a guy named John Williams. I met Mr Williams when I was a back-of-the-pack marathon runner. I told Dexter to run with him if he wanted some good company.
Dexter
Then as I was jogging down E Anaheim St, I came across my friend Maricris. I stopped for another quick pic with her. At about mile 24, we joined back up with the half marathon course. Those last two miles were not my favorite as it involved a lot of navigating around those in the half marathon. The race organizer had designated the right lane for marathoners, but since there's no physical divider, it's just a suggestion. Oh well, overall it was just a minor inconvenience.
Maricris
Finish: 4:53:04
Click here for my Garmin data.
My goal for this race was to just finish in under 5 hrs. That doesn't sound like a very lofty goal, but I haven't been able to finish this race in under 5 hrs for the past 3 years. I was starting to have my doubts when my legs were cramping up again as I made my loop through the campus of Cal State Long Beach. The weather was just too nice and sunny! I was glad to have met my goal with time to spare. That was my 7th consecutive Long Beach Marathon finished. Only 3 more years to get my name on that legacy bench.Relive 'Long Beach Marathon'
Finish line
After getting my medal and my post-race snacks and drinks, I bumped into a couple of my brother's friends who had just finished the half marathon. They found a place to sit down and rest as I headed over to the Beach Bum beer garden to see if any of my friends were there. Fortunately one of my buddies found me as I was wandering the area looking for a spot to sit down. We haven't seen each other at a race in a while since he had been recovering from a significant injury. It was good to catch up with him. I hung out with him until one of our mutual friends showed up. Then it was time for me to head on home.
Finisher medal
Post-race goodies
Phil
Of course, I stopped in at the McDonald's to pick up some food along the way. Both of my game pieces were winners, free medium fries! Score!
Post-race meal
I won! Medium fries x2
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